|
By jwb71913 Date: 2004 Jun 16 Comment on this Work [[2004.06.16.10.35.4467]] |
|
My dog ran away a couple of weeks ago. She was gone for three days, and her absence afforded an unusual opportunity for observation. Critters that would ordinarily stay out of the yard suddenly rushed in for a look and a visit. Squirrels scampered through the trees and tried to invade the shed, birds made use of the worms and bugs in the green stuff I call grass, and two turtles came to mate. The last time a turtle ventured into my yard, the dog brought it up onto the porch and tried to be its mother. I noticed the turtles, the male awkward and comical straddling the female, and thought about the shell I've built around my heart. I watched for a few moments, then felt oddly like a peeping tom, so I went about my normal morning routine of coffee, shower and dressing for work. About an hour later, after getting ready for the day, I went out to look at the flowers before I left for work. The turtles had not moved one millimeter in all that time, the male still awkward and comical, his head and neck at far out of the shell as it could reach, and the sudden vulnerability of the situation struck me. One of these days I'll stick my neck out again. It's getting kind of boring under the porch. |