Blog

Day’s End

Tip-top leaves of a chestnut oak down the hill are all a-flutter, waving like jazz hands in calm evening air. Nuthatches have returned to the bird feeders. Devils walking sticks, whose magenta panicles bent low last week under heavy loads of fruit, slowly rise back into their straight-limbed prickled glory as the blue-black drupes are consumed by bears and birds. Husband, dog and I head over to the state park to watch the sun set and count buzzards. 11, then 12, then 15, not wheeling circles in the sky tonight but commandeering a now-empty stretch of sandy beach. One group argues over a dead fish, one bird commandeers the low wall, others line lake’s edge for a drink of water. Late summer light fades into faraway cloud illuminated by flashes of lightning, and the laughter of children spreads in ripples across the lake. In this moment, all is well. ~K