Birdsong on a wicker chaise

Now that it is warm I drink my coffee outside on my new purchase, a dreamy wicker chaise with hunter green cushions. Our house, built around 1840, is on a main road yet the back yard is a private oasis of birdsong. Yesterday my neighbor sat meditating in her backyard with the contented look of Buddha. She said, " I can't think of any place I'd rather be, this is my favorite place in the world. " I had to agree.

There is something about starting the day with the birds flitting and swooping around you. Nothing worldly seems terribly pressing when you are listening to a symphony of birdsong. The variety of song would suggest there are far more birds than I can identify. I see only the chickadees, robins, finches, starlings, mockingbirds, grackles, sparrows and an occasional cardinal. Early in the spring I saw red wing blackbirds but they are gone. Yesterday I saw a pair of morning doves in the bird bath and last night a bunny with a fluffy white tail sat munching the wildly overgrown grass in the backyard.

Spring is most certainly here. We put the skis into storage and the summer clothes are making their debut. Hanging pots of pansies have been adorning the front porch for over a month. The forsythia bushes create a wild border of yellow blossoms around the property. This is a truly happy house and I cannot think of anywhere I'd rather be than here in Harwich.