Cats, Herons, Egrets, Chickens

A Great Blue Heron has joined the egrets at the rapidly shrinking pond. The heron caught supper: I was too far away to see clearly what was on the menu. It may have been a frog. I noted the heron, egrets, ducks share the diminishing habitat, and none fought the heron for the meal. As I walked up the hill toward the football field, in the berm of Queen Anne's Lace, milkweed, and aster, a cat leaped high in the air. For joy or for prey, I don't know, but once he saw me, he crouched below the foliage, still, and I saw no more cat. On a grassed rise along the walk path, far ahead, I saw what looked like two giant pigeons pecking at the grass. Huge iridescent birds. Closer, it was a hen and a rooster, fantastically feathered, dining busily as I walked past. Wild chickens? Or escapees on a culinary adventure? I did not have to spend the day collecting my dinner, as my wild friends had, or risk being dinner myself. As the sun said good night to the horizon, I hoped we'd all sleep well.