The Morning Porch » springhouse

A wren sits grooming itself in the...

Dave Bonta — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:56:40 +0000

A wren sits grooming itself in the sun on the peak of the springhouse roof, fluffing out its breast feathers, probing under its wings.

Dave Bonta — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:49:13 +0000

First snow of the new year: thin as the flaking whitewash on the old springhouse. Two hikers and a dog each wear vests of safety orange.

Dave Bonta — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:34:38 +0000

Clear and still. In the corner of what used to a lawn across from the springhouse, the limbs of a fallen tree shine white with frost.

Dave Bonta — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:57:20 +0000

A Carolina wren breaks the silence, bobbing up and down on the peak of the springhouse roof: one side frosty, the other steaming in the sun.

Dave Bonta — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:34:24 +0000

Rain and fog. A pileated woodpecker performs invasive surgery on a locust tree next to the springhouse, removing a malignant colony of ants.

Dave Bonta — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:09:21 +0000

Clear and bracing, like a shot of vodka. The thirteen cattail heads beside the springhouse sway gently in the dawn light.

Dave Bonta — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:13:13 +0000

Cold and quiet. Two phoebes are refurbishing the nest under the springhouse eaves, going to the stream and returning with beaks full of mud.

Dave Bonta — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:03:19 +0000

An incessant scolding from the springhouse: a Carolina wren perches in the tiny, prison-like window, crossed by a single bar of sunlight.

Dave Bonta — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:29:22 +0000

The corpse of a moth flaps upside-down against the column. Beyond the springhouse, a broken branch dangles—the leaves’ pale undersides.

Dave Bonta — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:22:21 +0000

In the springhouse marsh, 13 cattail spikes are turning brown. When I go over for a closer look, a deer pops her head up, swivels her ears.