Savoring Summer Sights and Sounds

The awaited call comes informing me that there are two prospective buyers for my home of 12 years. As I sit in my front porch rocker, I know I must linger to notice the wonderful sights and sounds that have kept me company these many months of summer. As I gently rock and gaze up at the hazy blue sky with the pink tinged clouds, I hear the quiet chirping of the crickets as a black butterfly floats before me just long enough for me to glimpse its pale shimmering speckles. A blue jay lets out its taunting scream in a distant tree, as one lone carpenter ant zig zags crazily across the porch. A hot breeze sends down a few crisp leaves from the linden tree as two yellow jackets chase my hummingbird from his long beaked sip from the feeder. I have come to feel an affection for Mrs. Personality, who is a squirrel we named at summers beginning. She stealthily creeps on the shaded ground to grab a cracker thrown for her after last nights porch snack. It's as big as her little head, yet she holds it with her two tiny paws and munches it it circular fashion until it is small enough to greedily carry it up the tree. A daddy long leg makes his slow deliberate journey to my sandaled foot, and lifts a leg as if to say hello. I smile, as it seems he can discern an appreciative eye for his gentle being. I hear an occasional car drive by, although my vision is obscured by the unruly growth of the scotch broom that rises above the porch rail and is the perfect hiding place for the catbirds that visit. Another slight movement of air draws my attention to the gentle tinkling of my wind chimes and the twirling color of my sun catcher. I try to catch and store these sights and sounds that have given me such quiet joy this summer, as I prepare for the sale that will send me to my new home somewhere out in America.