The Morning Porch

October 3, 2014 by Dave Bonta

Overcast and still. The hollow thumps of a pileated woodpecker foraging for breakfast. Walnuts fall on the back roof with an alarming crash.

August 29, 2025
Cloudy and damp at sunrise. Traffic is a distant rumble; one tree cricket trills. When I next look up from my book, the sky is nearly clear.
August 29, 2024
Overcast and quiet, save for the occasional wood pewee. The bird-sound app flags a barred owl in my stomach.
August 29, 2023
Overcast. A low-key chase involving several squirrels takes place mostly behind a screen of leaves, unlike in January when their courtship is on full display. I listen while I clean my glasses.
August 29, 2022
Dawn sky striped with red. A small cloud forms in the hollow. The sleepy croaks of a raven: urk, argh. Then the wren and it’s day.
August 29, 2021
Almost fall. The motherless fawn running out of the woods has lost its spots but not its cloud of flies.