Skip to main content

It's quiet here Lord, in Western Pennsylvania

     Years ago I remember reading that Title line from a poem.  I've long forgotten the poem, the poets name and even the book I read it in.   

    However that first line has always stuck with me.   

    It is quiet here in Western Pennsylvania, I can hear the two dozen or so different species of birds sing in the trees that surround my home.  They swoop in sometimes, chickadee's and mourning doves, to eat at my feeders.

    I've not seen a robin yet, and I do miss the family of Cardinals that used to come home every year and build a nest not far from my home in Tampa.   The young ones first flight was often to our feeder, where they would feast on black oily sunflower seeds and knock the little grains to the grass below.  Where rabbits and squirrels would gather to feast. 

    Here a lone chipmunk bides his time and avoids the feral cats that would gobble him whole.  I watch as he nervously stuffs his cheeks before disappearing into the underbrush.

   


    It is quiet her Lord, as I lie awake in bed staring into the black and hear the snort of my neighbors house.  I smile as a doe takes a tentative lick off of salt block, then blurs into the woods surrounding my home.   

    I turn on some Grateful Dead in the middle of the day, letting the music loop lazily through the home as I stare at the data on my work computer screen.   As I start to hum Ripple to myself, I think about how I'm connected to people I will never meet.  My actions will bury someone's love, send grandchildren to college, and keep a roof over someone's head.

    It is quiet here in Western Pennsylvania, as my cats count in the few passing cars in the warm autumn sun.  They purr lazily as they drift into sleep, happy and content with bellies full of milk and food.


    It's easy for me to forget that any life other then this one ever existed.  I have, in a month, grown used to the quiet and solitude.  Of course, it's easy to say that as the last boxes of our move are unpacked and the rooms start to come together. I've been kept busy

    Come winter it will be time to paint the walls and read those books that I've put off.  I can't help but wonder if I will soon miss the noise and activity of city life. 

    For now though, I am happy enough to wake; wake before the dawn and start out my window to watch the day begin anew.

    The world may be crazy and I'm afraid for my country, but for now...I am at peace.


 

 

     

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

What all the cool kids are reading.

Digging in the dirt

In a lot of ways I feel rejuvenated.  It's a glorious morning as I am driving down to Pittsburgh with the local radio station playing a mix of old and new that elevates my mood, the sun shining strong through the sun roof.   I am on my way to buy plants.   I have a list in my pocket and I expect that I'll be coming home with a few of them.  I had hoped to buy spicebush and maybe serviceberry , in addition to what I did end up buying.  As I talk to people there, I use the term " food forest " because that's about the closest definition to what I'm trying to do, although it's also not the best one.     What I'm more interested in doing is creating a refuge.  A place for a weary traveler in the future to stop, rest under the trees and have access to wild strawberries and blueberries (which sadly didn't take last year), apples etc.   A place of respite rather than a place that can self maintain itself over time, although I do...
Post a Comment
Read more

The summer that I go to war

When I first moved into my house some five, nearly six year ago, one of the first things I noticed was that we had a tree out back that was nearly strangled by an invasive woody vine called Oriental Bittersweet.   At the time I didn't think much about it as other more pressing problems, like a new roof and insulated windows, came first.  Other problems and projects kept pushing that "little issue" back onto the corners of my mind.   Small "little issues" tend to become bigger ones.  Oriental Bittersweet That's the problem with home ownership, their is always "one more project."  One more bill. I was considering where to plant the Pawpaw and new Bur Oak   and this corner seemed to be a very good option.  That's when I noticed my problem,  I have several Multiflora Rosa growing in my "wilds" and one that somehow I've missed over the last few years, it's become rather well established.   The Oriental Bittersweet was reaching o...
Post a Comment
Read more

When it rains - The conclusion

The month of May for what ever reason seems to be passing slowly, but the year seems to be flying by.   Suddenly we are nearing the end of the month and I'm only now getting to work on the yard.   I did go in search of an electric powered riding lawnmower, for the same reasons that I went in search of an electric car.    Both searches failed, as the local hardware, lawncare and "big box" stores simply didn't carry any electric riding mowers.  I could have ordered an electric mower off of Amazon, or similar site, and had it shipped but then I would be looking at a two week delivery timeframe, and would have exceeded t he budget that I had set for myself. The grass, though high and feeding a variety of pollinators and other insects would simply not wait much longer.  Plus ticks are always a concern in Western PA at this time of year, and one way to control them is to keep your grass cut.   I had already had a few instances of dealing with...
Post a Comment
Read more