From this primordial caldron, sulfur and nitrogen compounds fume, ghost-like,
up into the ether. Here is where stars are born & stars die. Here, a lizard is apt
to check you out up & down as fast as a rattlesnake can rattle. Here is where the
trickster Coyote crosses my path. No matter how congested Los Angeles becomes the
Coyote finds me. Just yesterday close to nine in the morning, passing Benedict
Canyon in my car, an unusually large doe gallops into my peripheral vision. She
charges head on for my car's front bumper. Two seconds before impact she freezes
then cocks her head from side to side gazing at me with an unmistakable attitude; a
sense of humor.


Later in the day, a butterfly of uncommon earthly hues glides into my garden
circling twice before resting on top of Alex's head. I tip my gaze skyward just in
time to catch two mischievous hummingbirds hover above them for just a moment before
they return to their frenetic game of tag. I think I am witnessing a still life in
motion. I rake the driveway free of the purple jacaranda blooms while the cat purrs
upturned, side to side with my dogs; all three innocents hypnotized by the spring
sun. Finally, just as I think I've seen it all for one day a hawk comes charging
from the heavens into the avocado tree & lunges at a flock of doves cooing
blissfully out on a limb. Feathers come raining down upon our heads. The hawk seems
stunned as it dawns upon him that all the doves have gotten away.

06/15/2007

Posted on 06/15/2007
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