This Morning

The house is so quiet - Fred returns later this afternoon from being away for a few days and it has been so different in his absence...most notably eating oatmeal and soft boiled eggs for dinner last night(!)

It was hard to get up this morning - the fog was thick and dark, and our bedroom is upstairs, in the trees, so I can lie in bed and watch all sorts of wonder going on out of our windows - early this morning I saw a tiny, acrobatic goldfinch diving for bugs, and the family of huge enormous crows flying back and forth to feed their babies. The crows are quite a thing. They decided last year that our yard was perfect for their nest, and it was as if The Mob moved in. All the little song birds that usually take up residence in our trees were gone, like a flash. Now they are back. They strut around the yard, driving our dog Gracie simply mad. She is absolutely resolved that their immense black talons will never touch ground in our yard. You can now say "squirrel" to her (which basically means any and all pesty beasts of a certain size that have the audacity to live on our property), and she will bolt out the door, growling and barking. But for all of their noise and bullying, the crows are stunning, smart creatures. They have been using our bird bath, which I can see from my office window, to soak bits of bread and crackers and whatever else they forage, before taking it up to their nests to feed their babies. I have read that they congregate in huge flocks (actually called "murders"...hmmm...) of 40-50, each one of them having a unique name that they all recognize. They are foreboding in a Grimm's Fairy Tale sort of way, and, don't tell Gracie, but I love them.

The other thing I'm having trouble tearing myself away from is this wonderful book, Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories, by Lauren Groff. I just finished her utopian turned dystopian / coming-of-age all-in-one-stunning novel, Arcadia, which was incredible beyond words (Pilar Law, if you are reading this blog post, you MUST get this book).

But, out of bed I must go, and into my day - to make your books, print your beautiful memories, and eat more oatmeal...


XOXO
Yvette