nature

Birds tweeting (in nature, not on Twitter) interrupt the Boardwalk sounds.

It's not a real Boardwalk carnival, mind you. The children at recess in the elementary school a couple of blocks from my house sound no different from children running around the wooden slats with dripping ice cream cones. The construction machines (at same elementary school) sound like roller coasters winding up, taking their cars to the top of hill before releasing them to adrenaline.

And the cars rushing down the major street four blocks from my house become the waves cresting, crashing, and rolling back into the arms of Mother Ocean.

In this carnival, I write today.

This is my backyard studio.

(Pretend you don't see the magazine that's not distracting me from my writing. Not at all.)

Butterflies, birds, and squirrels keep me company. (Yes, the squirrels and I have declared a cease-fire for the moment. That's how beautiful this day is.)

The morning dove who's taken up residence in our gutters

She's shy. I had a hard time catching this shot.

Red-breasted something-or-other: That's the official species name.

I just watched this little sheila grab an earthworm from my garden (no! I need those earthworms!) and swallow half of it. She bounced toward me with the other half hanging out of her beak as if offering it to me. Too bad the memory card from my camera was in the computer. 

The sunlight sparkles on the water, speckles the path, and dances with the trees. I sit on a log bench and meditate on the memory verse for my Bible study:

1. It's best to spoil yourself when camping: steak and salmon for dinners and the like. It helps if you pack a Master Chef with you for just such an occasion. This is why I take my husband with me.


2. Coffee tastes better percolated outside.


3. Full moons are just as bright as the dawn.


4. Also bring with you a pyro. They make the best campfires (um, my husband again).