When you stand on it in the middle of the day and close your eyes you can hear in the distance the sounds of acorns falling heavy out of tall oak trees. Crickets are chirping continuously in the key of D, birds are busy eating from the feeders nearby. The air feels cool out here on the porch, insects buzz, the old dry leaves of dying sunflowers rub together like crumbled papers. Another nut falls in the woods. You can smell dry pine, rotting mushrooms, pond water, leaves, wood bark, wild grapes, earth and wind. Colorful zinnias are waving like upright magic wands back and forth, back and forth. Bees hum, chickens sing, and the clean dewy grass is lovely, you know it would feel so good pressed against your temples and forehead. Garden toads and worms are in the hidden parts of the gardens surrounding the porch. Wind-chimes, clothesline, bells, all dangle and wave. The sky is smoothly blue and dotted with clouds. If you squint at the trees all you can see is orange.
But in the morning all is quiet. Misty falling fog wraps around the porch. Large plastic spiders have woven a cotton doily web and a black cat sits, patiently waiting to be let inside for his morning can of food.
Good to be Home 
hi shanda…….beautiful words and thoughts. LOVE the spider web – very clever!!
This is beautiful, Shanda — I feel as if I was standing there with you, both in the evening and in the misty morning!
Always wished for a big porch with several rocking chairs on it. Enjoy that beautiful spider web!
Ahhhh… You captured Autumn in your part of the world so perfectly. It pretty much came alive! I’ll bet you had a cup of coffee while sitting on the porch, too. 🙂 …with plenty of cream. Thank you for sharing your view of Fall with us. I love this season so much. Our leaves are just beginning to turn here.
“Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile.” -John Howard Bryant
a very beautiful and very poetic text. You would think you were there. Thank you Shanda for this beautiful poetry and for this calm, this so calming nature. The creation of God is beautiful
So beautiful and enchanting!!!
We don’t have our own cat. Yet we have large amounts of cat food. The reason is that we have what we have termed a community cat who was abandoned by his owners when they moved some years ago. The cat visits lots of houses along our East London Victorian terraced street and gets fed along the way, sleeps on various beds and generally appears to live a very nice life. Much like the cat in the children’s book ‘Six Dinner Sid’ by Inga Moore. We’d all be devastated if she went missing. In this autumnal weather a favourite spot is the bed vacated by our daughter who is away at university. Obviously keeping it warm for her return at Christmas.
I am so charmed by this story.