Being neighborly

I don't mind, much, when one of the neighbors nibbles
the pear tree.

Whitetail deer nibbles pear tree

Photo by J. Harrington

I even understand when one comes to "borrow" a cup of
sunflower seeds.

Black bear eats sunflower seeds from bird feeder

Photo by J. Harrington

I do wish they'd clean up after they're done
looking for snacks on the deck.

Black bear scat on deck

Photo by J. Harrington

But a certain pair of this year's fawns is headed for big time trouble unless they stop eating the newly planted forsythia and lilac bushes.

Whitetail deer (on left) eating newly planted lilac bush

Photo by J. Harrington

Connie Wanek understands about

Mysterious Neighbors

By Connie Wanek 

Country people rise early

as their distant lights testify.

They don’t hold water in common. Each house

has a personal source, like a bank account,

a stone vault. Some share eggs,

some share expertise,

and some won’t even wave.

A walk for the mail elevates the heart rate.

Last November I saw a woman down the road

walk out to her mailbox dressed in blaze orange

cap to boot, a cautious soul.

Bullets can’t read her No Trespassing sign.

Strange to think they’re in the air

like lead bees with a fatal sting.

Our neighbor across the road sits in his kitchen

with his rifle handy and the window open.

You never know when. Once

he shot a trophy with his barrel resting on the sill.

He’s in his seventies, born here, joined the Navy,

came back. Hard work never hurt a man

until suddenly he was another broken tool.

His silhouette against the dawn

droops as though drought-stricken, each step

deliberate, down the driveway to his black mailbox,

prying it open. Checking a trap.

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Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.