My Country Landscape

An Ever Changing Mosaic

My house sits on a hill and every window has a view of the country landscape.

A look through any one of them offers just a glimpse of the very active countryside around me.

I watch from my kitchen window and I see seven or eight deer crossing the driveway. They pause to taste the spring buds on the trees and relish the coming green grass.

I watch ten look over the special nesting boxes we have put out for them. squirrels switching their tails as they eat the corn that is on the ground for them. They do acrobatics in all the trees-most likely in training as they figure out how to slide down a long wire and feast out of the bird feeder that is not meant for them.

And I watch the birds who come. The bright and colorful goldfinches. The blue jays and cardinals dressed in brilliant plumage.

Each morning a gorgeous cock pheasant comes to have breakfast. Sometimes he brings his wife who is very drab but who blends in perfectly with the country landscape. If she walks in the tall grass I find it hard to see her.

Spring in the country marks the return of the robin and the bluebird.The bluebirds check out the wooden nesting boxes we have set out for them.

In May Jenny Wren begins to serenade me early in the morning.And of course, there are the many varieties of sparrows,juncos,nuthatches and birds who are on their way south or north who stop over for a meal.

Living in a country landscape is like living on a busy street with people passing by all day long. I look out another window and see the ducks and Canada geese on the pond below.

The blue herons walk around the edge of the pond searching for frogs and fish.And sometimes the deer slip down in the twilight through the prairie grass to get a drink.The fawns play and chase each other at the water's edge.

In the spring evening, the frogs are singing a song.At night,the calls of the barred owls let me know that they are hunting for food and keeping tabs on each other.

And all year long the coyotes yip and howl and search for food. Sometimes it seems that they are so close that they are passing through my room. My dog barks and howls too. But I don't let her out.

I love to see the changing seasons of the country landscape...in early spring I check for the first sign of watercress in the trout pond.Then the greening of the grass and the green haze that closes in the woods indicating that the bushes and gooseberries are leafing out. The blackened

prairie grass begins to sprout green shoots in anticipation of summer growth.

When summer comes,the fruit trees bear their gifts for me to pick and put in the freezer.

The flowers of the country landscape are stunning with their colorful array.I sprinkled purple Cone flower seeds along the lane that comes into our house and each year they welcome all who use it.

Winter brings its own beauty when everything is covered in white and sparkles with winter snow. At the end of winter the prairie grass is burned to get ready for the coming of spring and new growth. The roaring fire creates a spectacular scene.

The country landscape is always changing as are the creatures that live here with me.

It is always fascinating.