bouncing bet

Another woods-edge maple has gone red. Bouncing bet still blooms beside the porch, four months on.

Hazy but not yet hot. Hummingbirds circle the soapwort patch, as if following the red threads of bindweed.

Sunlight dulled by high haze. A squirrel in the garden grooms its genitals, then pulls a soapwort blossom close for an almost-kiss.