Hunger Pangs

The cold continues.  Snow has been on the ground for over a week.

Bluebirds frequent their heated birdbath.  Two or three arrive first...

...and the rest follow in close succession, splashing down like a winged waterfall.

In the hollow, a red-shouldered hawk soars in broad circles, 

his piercing eyes scanning the ground for some hapless creature 

to warm his belly and help him get through the winter.

 Near the house, he perches in a craggy oak...

pivoting his head to all points of the compass.

The deck, so recently a living carpet of birds, is strangely vacant.  

Red takes a pass, but comes up empty.  But hey,

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

Wayne Gretzky 

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday

Wintry Circuit

Between the snows, the winter earth is bare 

Its fleeting beauty shifted to the skies

Where Plieades blushes at a candid stare   

But casts her splendor on averted eyes.

The moon is briefly just a crooked smile

Content to share its glory with the stars

Then swells to take the spotlight for awhile

Until it rises waning under Mars.

Now dawn is gray; the stars have lost their shine

Cloud cloaked, the radiant moon has vanished   

Flakes fall and drift and make the land benign    

And take the stage until the snow is banished.  




About the photo: The moon was added in Photoshop, but it is about how I remembered it.  
This isn't intended for scientific accuracy, but instead, to illustrate the poem.


Linking with Skywatch Friday

Terrific Hieroglyphic

It's cold out, the snow still falling, but Cardinals brighten even the grayest days.

Through the trees, as far as the opposite goal post,

their neon color catches our attention.

The female waits for spring when, instead of chasing them away,

the males will be offering little gifts of food.

What do the birds mean, 

with their hieroglyphics in the snow?

This one, at least, we know.

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday