On My Back Porch

All last summer and Fall, I longed for a laptop so that I could sit on the porch and write. I love to hear the birds singing and the fountain splashing.



I love to feel the breeze blow and smell the fresh mown grass. Watching the sun glint off the wet rocks and reflect in the ripples of the pond is a delight.



It's fun to watch the cat chasing a bug, or napping.





Daisy, the world's most spoiled dog, is usually sitting at the door waiting for someone to take pity and let her through. If she's in the house and someone's outside, she sits at the door to go out. Then she sits and looks at whoever's in the house, wanting back in.



Sometimes I meander over and feed the fish. That white catfish ou see in the middle has grown from about four inches to two feet long in the four years since we've had him. He's supposed to be a bottom feeder and help clean the pond. Mostly he's at the top, begging for more food. He's strong and muscular and often leaps high in the air after racing around the pond. I hope that doesn't mean he needs to be free--like those bears that pace in their zoo enclosures.


Yes. That's a duck. A mallard duck decoy. He's a bit faded. Our neighbors were losing their pond fish to thieving herons and cranes, so when I saw this guy at Bass Pro Shop, I decided to see if he'd work to keep them away. Either it does, or the bird thieves are too busy laughing to drop into our pond. But so far, we've seen neither heron nor crane!



Probably the biggest distraction on the back porch is the bird feeder. There are finches, cardinals, blackbirds, bluejays, pigeons, grackels and sparrows fighting and chattering for dominion over the food.



So this evening, I'm fulfilling my dream--sitting on the back porch, drinking iced tea and tapping away at the computer. Les has been in the kitchen fixing supper after doing laundry and cleaning all day. (Am I blessed or what?)

But with all the distractions of taking pictures, editing them, posting them, eating supper, admiring the birds, watching the dog and cat sniff around and hearing the sweet sound of someone else clattering the dishes, it has taken me three hours to type this post. Good thing I'm not getting paid to do this!