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Daily short takes from an Appalachian hollow

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towhee

May 18, 2009 by Dave Bonta

Half a degree above freezing at sunrise, and the sky is as clear as it gets. A towhee sings a backwards version of its song.

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Categories Plummer's Hollow Tags sunrise, towhee
October 8, 2008 by Dave Bonta

Clouds at dawn change from red to orange to pale yellow, like black gum trees in reverse. A towhee lands in the lilac—a splash of rose.

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Categories Plummer's Hollow Tags lilac, towhee
September 28, 2008 by Dave Bonta

Steady rain. Two squirrels passing each other on the driveway circle briefly, as if on an invisible roundabout. A towhee’s mindless chant.

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Categories Plummer's Hollow Tags gray squirrel, towhee
August 15, 2008 by Dave Bonta

A still morning. Dew drips from the top roof onto the porch roof. Each birdcall—woodpecker, towhee, jay—is surrounded by acres of silence.

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Categories Plummer's Hollow Tags towhee
June 12, 2008 by Dave Bonta

Sun in the treetops where a catbird improvises. From the lilac, the song of a towhee, incorporated seconds later into the catbird’s stream.

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Categories Plummer's Hollow Tags catbird, lilac, towhee
April 12, 2016April 12, 2008 by Dave Bonta

A towhee seems stuck in rehearsal: Drink! Drink your… Drink! Everything shines. A white-throated sparrow turns its song upside-down.

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Categories Plummer's Hollow Tags towhee
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On This Day

  • January 20, 2025
    A half moon all alone in thin clouds like a lost knife. The plank wall of the house behind me pops from the cold.
  • January 20, 2024
    Deep cold. The sound of wind mingling with the dull howl of distant jets. Two dead leaves pick this moment to finally let go and…
  • January 20, 2023
    Overcast with short-lived bright patches in the clouds. A cardinal sings a few notes at the time indicated for sunrise. Then it’s back to the…
  • January 20, 2022
    Bright sun with a few clouds. Snowflakes wander this way and that like terranauts among the trees.
  • January 20, 2021
    Just after sunrise, the side of the ridge where fresh snow is sheltered from the wind turns pink, until the clouds close in with their…

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Related book

Cover of Ice Mountain with a linocut of a big ridgetop tree.

What I do after I sit on the porch. One winter and spring's daily walks distilled into short poems with linocut illustrations by Beth Adams.

Header image: detail from Paper Garden by Clive Hicks-Jenkins (used by permission)

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