Porch Sitting

It’s 5:30 in the morning, sitting on the porch in the cool semi darkness with a cup of hot coffee.  It is quiet until the coyotes in the far distance call to each other.  Slowly the world begins to wake up as the sun gets closer to breaking over the horizon.  Birds, with different calls and songs, greet the day with their usual optimism.  An owl hoots nearby and another answers in the distance. The cows quietly move through the tall grass across the road in the field, occasionally mooing but mostly just grazing on the cool dewy grasses.  Charlie fancies he hears something I don’t, and lumbers his 100 pound frame over to the bench, putting his front paws on the seat and having a look around through the screened windows.  Satisfied there is no threat, he comes back and lays down near my feet where he is sure to get petted.  A rooster down the road crows, and is answered by a rooster up the road a ways.  The yard light seems to flicker, but it’s just a little breeze causing the leaves from the oak tree to move in front of it.  The hummingbirds have found the newly filled feeders and are starting their day on a sweet note.  I hope the ants which seem to plague those same feeders no matter what we do, find something else to eat today.  The morning is light even though the sun still hasn’t topped the horizon, the air is fresh, and it’s time for another cup of coffee.