Sunday, February 21, 2010

 
 Dawn and the promise of sunshine

 



that splashes on the floor through a window prism.
I soaked my bare toes in color
for luck...




and as luck would have it
one of these, a red shouldered hawk,
balanced precariously on the fence post
just outside my window.
I could not reach my camera but found this image
(see below). 
Often small birds - juncoes, sparrows, chickadees - 
will spend a moment preening on the post. 
Once or twice a squirrel has made it
a lookout point.
The hawk was a surprise - I can still feel
my jaw dropping.




The sun and wind were irresistible. I bundled up
and went out looking for signs of spring. The wind is
cold but not bitter, the pond's edges are beginning to melt,
skunk cabbage whorls are visible in the snow,
and I startled a flock of robins into windy flight.




In a mere month spring will be declared, rain will wash away 
the last of the grimy snow,
and I won't have to go looking for signs.
I will be surrounded by the season.

And so the great wheel keeps turning.

*hawk photo from: birdsasart.com

8 comments:

Ruth L.~ said...

Signs of spring... I've been looking, too. And the sun says it's on the way. I like how you see the world.

Russell said...

Yes .... the wheel keeps turning. I like that.

Enjoyed the photos and, more than that, your words. Very descriptive. You have the ability to paint pictures with words.

Take care and, yes, spring is coming!!

Pauline said...

Ruth - today was even more springlike. A teaser before a stormy week, but once spring gets started, there's no stopping it.

Thanks Russell! Nice to have you stop by. Rain is on the way (and sleet and snow) but none of it will last. The ice queen is on her way out.

Reya Mellicker said...

Encountering a hawk is always an awe inspiring experience. I've seen red tailed hawks here on Capitol Hill once or twice. It always takes my breath away.

Barbara said...

How exciting to see a hawk! I'm sure all those birds are tired of the cold and snow.

Meggie said...

I dont see any pretty birds here, though I do see the Cockatoos on the wing over the valley. I hear the Magpies in the early morning, but seldom see them. The Indian mynas have driven all the native birds away.
OUr Autumn is approaching.. thank goodness and the turn of the wheel!

Jan of Thousand Acres said...

How exciting, 'skunk cabbage whorls are visible in the snow'... I love this piece, it is the promise of spring on a very gloomy day, after all that glorious snow yesterday... but I can smell the hint of spring in the air. I remember reading your articles in the Record 'back then we still bought newspapers' ;) and I remember when they seemed to stop abruptly, yes?, or I stopped buying the actual paper since I read everything online now. Do you live in Sheffield? I am mixing people up a bit with so many new blogger friends that the 'Magpie Tales' has connected me with - and what fun for these last weeks of winter. I've created a new blog site for those Magpie stories as well more of my published stories that appear in The New Marlborough 5 Village News. (http://www.sundancehill.blogspot.com)
Nice to connect with a neighbor. I love this line in your piece: "I won't have to go looking for signs. I will be surrounded by the season." Soon, soon!

Pauline said...

Reya - we have lots of hawks here as I live in a rural area but I've never had the privilege of seeing one so close!

Barbara - I don't know about the birds but I know I am looking forward to spring!

Meggie - always you are entering the front end of the back end of our seasons!

SDH - thanks for coming by to comment. Yes, I stopped writing for the paper some years ago. But, it's fun writing here. Love your blogs about my favorite area - the Berkshires!