Mostly Mockingbirds

Our lips were for each other 

and our eyes were full of dreams. 

We knew nothing of travel 

and we knew nothing of loss. 

Ours was a world of eternal spring, 

until the summer came.

~ Roman Payne, Hope and Despair

 

Oak limb down in the park. The storm may have been more than we thought. We slept through it.

It rained last night. The storms came from the east-southeast. While we didn't get much water, there were still a few puddles here and there. And the humidity broke - the storm pulling the water out of the air.

I checked the "past radar" only to see more storms heading our way this morning - this time from the west.* So we walked, quickly. And because we did not make it to the neighbor with the lovely yard (flowers my mother grew**) our goal was her yard. Maybe she would be reading her paper or drinking coffee in the breezeway. It has been a long time since we have seen her.

There were runners out. Some we knew - running man greeted us as he returned from the park where we usually see him. Three young women headed down the hill towards the park. We didn't run, but kept a good pace to avoid traffic and beat the rain.

The dobermans were not out this morning. Our neighbor was not sitting, but working in her garage. We could see her through the window and so we stopped and waived until she saw us. She came out and we talked dogs and plants and walking.

Even summer walks are better when planned early - to miss the rush. And so, this first "school's out" week was good, but almost too late.

The grackles made themselves known, but we saw many more mockingbirds. Doves cooed and the woodpeckers drummed for their breakfast as we turned the corner towards home.


NOTES:

* The weatherman says the rain will stop well west of us.

**Our neighbor replaced her usual basket of bougainvillea with a cactus - strike that "plants like Mom" comment. Mom wasn't much for cactus, but she loved bougainvillea.


FINAL NOTE:
We had a neighbor - Miss Judy to some, Aunt Judy to others - who would be out working in the garage (where her utility room was located) most mornings. Whenever I see  a woman in her robe (housecoat or "wrapper") I think of her and Mom and that simple time - for me anyway. My neighbor reminds me of home.