Busy Morning

It’s a busy morning

At the boat ramp today.

It is early,

And I am the only

Human here.

A pair of Canada geese swim by,

Shoulder to shoulder,

Their connection displayed in their touch.

Invisible fish make ripples,

Just below the surface,

Then break,

Leaping away from bigger invisible fish.

Mallard ducks dabble,

All males.

Where are the ladies?

Do they know how silly they look,

Heads underwater,

Tails twitching in the air?

A mosquito whines by my ear,

Moves on,

Discouraged

By a wave of my hand.

Turtles sun, big and little,

Side by side

On the same log,

Their shells glistening in the sun.

Swallows swoop,

Chasing a bug breakfast.

Their acrobatics enchant me

As they air-dance above the water.

A hawk flies by,

A much smaller bird

In hot pursuit, chasing it away.

I wonder, as I always do:

Why doesn’t the hawk just turn around and eat

This tiny tyrant?

But the raptor always runs

From the diminutive defender

Guarding its home turf.

A jumping spider,

Stripey legs,

Emerald green eyes,

Appraises me from the rail I lean on.

It sidles closer,

Checks me out,

Then scurries away.

Two tiger swallowtails,

Fluttering yellow-and-black wings,

Are “puddling” -

Picking up minerals

From the mud at water’s edge.

Now there are four.

Good mud!

A grackle calls out its harsh call,

Startling me.

Flies by,

Disappears,

Leaving silence behind.

The creatures become brave in my stillness.

All that moves is my thumb,

Typing this note.

No danger here.