Big Orange Ball

The sun hovered at the tree line - a big orange ball floating in the pink morning sky.

It promised a scorcher today. But, the rays had not yet reached us. And we felt a little fresher with each step towards the early cool of the park.

Out ahead of the sun and the rush of traffic we enjoyed the sounds of the morning.  The birds were all warming up their songs. It was like those few minutes before the orchestra starts playing or the moments a choir tunes up for a concert. Each bird tweeted or chirped or warbled its own special music...melodies unknown by woman or dog. We stopped and watched what we thought was a woodpecker or sapsucker singing atop a utility post, but he disappeared and we moved on.

We marked our own time with the slap of shoe and click of dog nails on concrete as impatient pups  moved me down the street...to the park.

We found a few seeds browned by the warm dry weather and pocketed them for sharing. It is anyone's guess which seeds will make it in the ground and which will be lost to a forgetful gardener's laundry. These are for the brother who plants. He was so kind not to tease me as I admitted my inability to identify all but the most obvious of bird (I know cardinals, robins, jays, scissor tailed flycatchers, caracara  - yes - easy ones.). I promised  seeds of  cyclamen and ash and mallow. His are  more likely to find fresh earth and water and sprout for next year.

We headed for home just ahead of the first wave of heat as the sun cleared the trees.