Nature friends

I have a Robin and a groundhog that live on my property. They have come to be A stable comfort in my every day life. The Robin has little baby chicks that sit around with her mouth wide open waiting for mom to feed them. Sometime she doesn't fly off when I come and visit. She eyes me was a nervous glance but stays put.

The groundhog I rarely see. His name is Rufus. He's fuzzy in reclusive. I watch him at my window sometimes. He scratches out some food from the lawn. At least I think it's food I don't know what groundhog eat.

I've come to view them as neighbors friendly neighbors who just live lives like everyone else. With the loss of my best friend, they and my ancestors have become my best friends. The people I talk to the most.

I mean I have Joe but he's not the same. He lives with me.

In a primitive way I think my robin friend understands that I'm a friendly neighbor. She tolerates my need for company with a begrudging humor that most exhausted mothers have for friends who come over.

And I thank her for the consistency she provides in my life. I can even tell her apart from other robins. She has a line of grey feathers just under her dull red breast. It curves slightly like dunes in a desert. I think she's old, older than other robins, and therefore is less wary of me.

I talk to her as she watches me look over her best to check on her two little chicks.