Sept 26, 2003

Sept 26, 2003
2 p.m.
backyard
70's comfortable, no wind

Sitting under the pepper tree listening to all the bird chitter chatter waiting for them to come back out again. (They all flew away into hiding when I came out.) I hear the faint flutter of wings, light bird feet land, shadows fling through the patch of sunlight on the page in my lap.

The spicy smelling pepper tree with ripening tiny berries attracts more birds now than during the summer. I've seen several starlings these past few days in addition to the growing flock of house sparrows & finches - gold finches, mocking birds (a bold jay screeches at me now) and a black phoebe have all graced the yard with their presence lately. I also spotted a bright yellow newcomer yesterday - maybe some kind of oriole, judging from my bird guide.

I sit and watch shadow and flashes of movement through the trees hoping that the longer I sit quietly, the bolder the birds will become. A small flock of starlings returns to the fruit tree in the other corner of the yard - flit about a bit and fly back off the way they came - I wait, hoping they'll some back again to the pepper tree. A moment, the flutter of wings, a pair does show up, hope about and seem to disappear in the branches.

Very quiet for a long while, all I hear is the heavy construction down the street (a neighbor getting a pool put in?) and the soft trickling of the fountain in the tub pond. Then quiet questioning chirps, soft wings and tiny feet again.


Two tiny sparrows hide in the pepper tree - obvious to my eye but nearly invisible through the camera lens.



The black phoebe likes to take a perch on top of the swing set, catch a pepper-berry on the fly and return to his swing set perch to consume it. His silhouette is unmistakable but I cannot render it from memory. He is easily startled away by other birds and doesn't stay in one place long enough for me to make a sketch.

Sparrows, chubby and small, are the most comfortable with my presence. Several fly about their business in the yard, resting on the fence to look at me, gather and splash in the sunlit bird bath, then all fly off at some silent signal.

vacant lot

Sept 25, 2003
4:45 p.m.
vacant lot next door to Capital Ballet Center
warm - 80's clear skies, still air

The trees at the back of this vacant lot nearly always catch my eye as I pass, preparing to turn right past them into the parking lot for Deidre's ballet class. Today the light hits just right and I can't help but stop to make an image. There's nowhere really to sit besides a large hill of dirt dumped by contruction or a patch of sticky weeds. I go back to sit in the car to write, but not before I drop the negative. It falls face down on dirt and rocks. I only hope the scratches give it character, or a sense of the scruffy spot it was made at. Cars are racing past in rush hour traffic and drown out what little birdsong can be heard between the rushes of traffic. Deidre should be done with class now so I better go get her or she'll spend the afternoon chatting in the dressing room.

blue sky

Sept 16, 2003
5:45 p.m.
Antelope Community Park
warm - 70's
blue sky with high thin clouds

It's been so long since I've been here. What happened to my resolve to come here often and chronicle the passing seasons? I've been busy I guess, but I have kept up with my journal nonetheless.



The dry grass is mostly mown here now - the fire danger would be too great otherwise, I'm sure. At least it's easier to stomp through! Plenty of mourning doves around - fluttering back and forth on the gorund. A scrub jay squawks a few trees away. Little unseen birds twitter in the background.


This is the tree I first called woodpecker oak - today Deidre sees a woodpecker peeking in and out of a hole in another tree. I seem to have captured a disturbing sense of imbalance with my photo.


A flock of magpies were pecking about in this field in front of the two silhouetted trees. Of course they flew away as I settled in for the photo.