There was only one hawk here today. It surprised a squirrel at the patio table. The squirrel cowered and the hawk loomed but the squirrel managed to dart away to safety before the young hawk had figured out how to attack. I most enjoyed seeing it in the birdbath. That's a lot of bird for that little bath. It stared at its reflection in the water, took drinks, and at one point fluffed up its tail feathers and dunked its underparts in the water, kind of like a sitz bath.
This morning I saw that the spiderwort in the garden is blooming. This is a plant that thrives in poor soil and with neglect. The perfect plant for me. Its flowers open in the early morning and are closed by noon so it's only open for morning pollinators, I guess.
Tonight I cast on a preemie hat to knit on at Friday Night Zoom Knitting and finished it, except for weaving in the tails. Once the tail is woven in I'll tie a knot in the top cord, which looks cuter, I think.
19 June--Barbara Malcolm, Tropical Obsession.
A few more steps across the
blackened rock, careful not to get tangled in the grasping branches of the sea
grape colonizing the edge, and Jack could look down into the sea. Water the
color of liquid turquoise lapped at the base of the rock where it plunged underwater,
hissing and foaming in the spaces. The cliff face, all of the rock on this tiny
island, was ancient reef pushed into the air by forces deep within the planet.
Jack used his hand to shade his eyes as he scanned the shallows for his quarry.
The water was so clear and the sand so white beneath it that even the smallest
movement was visible. He saw schools of fish going about their business. He watched
groups of Bar Jacks hunting, darting to scatter smaller fish when they struck.
He saw the silver blade of a solitary barracuda patrolling the reef edge, waiting
for an opportunity to pounce on the unwary. All seemed normal.
He turned to the cab driver standing
nervously behind the open door of his van. "Are you sure this is where you
heard Manning ask to go?"
As the driver nodded, licking his
lips to moisten them, his mouth suddenly dry from the thread of menace in
Jack's voice, neither man noticed a hand reach up over the lip of the drop-off
and slowly close around Jack's ankle.
Pulled off-balance and flailing in
the heartless air, Jack fell silently onto the tumbled boulders at the base of
the cliff, then his unconscious form rolled into the cool water. Manning clung
to the ironshore rocks and sea grape roots for a moment to watch Jack’s body
being sliced and shredded on the coral by the waves until he noticed the first
predators vector in from the navy blue of deeper water. He pulled himself up onto
the top of the cliff, rolled over the sea grape and stood up, dusting his hands
on his shorts.
"Not a bad acting job, Bunny,"
he said, clapping the driver on the back.
Bunny gave him a mute look, went
around the back of the van, and lost his breakfast in the thorny scrub, drawing
an interested audience of lizards. Manning climbed into the driver's seat and
turned the key.
"Mount up; I'll drive. I think
we could both use a Polar, maybe a whole six-pack."
Bunny emerged from the bush
dragging a shaky hand over his mouth, got into the van and slammed the door.
Manning jammed through the gears and
drove south in a flurry of gravel, leaving only a small dust cloud to mark Jack's
passing.
It was so hot out today that I barely went out. Instead I went downstairs and found some things to recycle and toss. I need to start getting rid of things on the shelves under the stairs, a little at a time so it isn't such a big job. Now is when I could use a dumbwaiter to haul stuff upstairs. Or a conveyor on the stairs. That'd be good.
--Barbara
1 comment:
Oh my goodness. Like Jack, I didn't see that coming. Does this mean we're leaving the island for good? You've described it so perfectly, I feel as if we've been there all this time. That hawk does look formidable there in the birdbath. No wonder the squirrel scurried away. Cute preemie hat. Fit for somebody's sweet pea!!
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