garden – The Morning Porch/Patio

Sunday June 14, 2015

Dave Bonta June 14, 2015

A chipmunk scurries through the garden with a wad of dried leaves between her teeth and disappears beneath a flowerless clump of peonies.

Dave Bonta February 3, 2014

It’s snowing; the bergamot heads wear new, conical caps. A mourning dove flies past the porch on nearly silent wings, headed for the pines.

Dave Bonta December 13, 2013

After two days of soaking up sun, the sage plant’s fat, gray-green leaves have melted the snow-pack around each protruding sprig.

Dave Bonta October 24, 2013

First snow of the year: a squall of small flakes. The flamingo in the garden rapidly acquires a white shawl.

Dave Bonta October 11, 2013

The all-night rain has stripped the leaves off the witch hazel, revealing the flowers, some clutching raindrops in their pale skinny petals.

Dave Bonta September 22, 2013

The hornets stream in and out of their hole in the garden, departing to the south, returning from the east. A towhee calling in the dogwood.

Dave Bonta September 19, 2013

Goldfinch, nuthatch, catbird, wren. The herb-garden chipmunk, cheeks bulging, pauses on top of the wall to groom its paws.

Dave Bonta September 9, 2013 1

Thin clouds; the sun is a bright smear. A hummingbird hovers over the spent flowers in my garden, nudging a yellow leaf with her bill.

Dave Bonta August 27, 2013 2

A hornet nuzzles my arm like a hoverfly but doesn’t sting. In the garden, the buzz of hummingbirds dueling over scraps of bloom.

Dave Bonta August 22, 2013 1

Weeding the garden is never dull. Yesterday morning a milk snake writhed around my wrist; today, hornets boil up and sting my hand.