The Backyard

I have been hearing a wind in out backyard. It started around November 21 or November 23, 2013. But nothing is moving. Not trees or plants. It used to be intermittent but now its almost every night. Its a distant wind . . .  a wind that seems far off. And its mostly at night although I will hear it sometimes early morning.

I look through my journal and it started around the first week of October. There was the strong smell of flowers.  And we had only roses in the back which for the most part, have no smell at all. (We have yellow jasmine but it was not in bloom . . .  there are only a few stray vines which are climbing among the roses.) In our family's experience, it usually signifies a visitation from the dead.

But in that back yard, since I put an offering in a decrepit church bird house perched in the upper branches of our one remaining tree -- an apricot, the backyard has been "active."

(Some words on the apricot tree.  It used to bear huge amounts of fruit but my father kept cutting back its branches. He was convinced that its roots was going to interfere with our pipes but it is actually quite a fair distance from the main house. There were only a few apricots last year and the squirrels should have those . . .  But on this tree is a giant staghorn fern which I mounted there years and years ago. I like to think that the fern made up for the denuded canopy. I think this tree is special to me. )

There was something huge and white looming over the neighbor's garage (October 9). It could have been the moon or rather it gave the impression of being moon-faced. It was not threatening. There was just an impression of mild curiosity. Again, this was at night.