The quiet house

We see hawks fairly often here flying near the house.  We live right off the marsh, which might be the nearest avian equivalent to a fast food drive through – snakes, rats, and other slithering and scurrying things galore.  During the summer I love to float on my back in the pool and look overhead at the small opening in the tree canopy, watching them catch the air currents and glide overhead as they search for lunch.

I’ve never seen them actually land in my yard before though.  The hundred pound dog is a pretty big deterrent most days I guess.  But Tuesday morning I looked out the window and saw this sitting by the pool.

I stared for a minute, sure he’d fly away if I so much as blinked, but there he stayed.  So I eased away from the window long enough to find my camera, and when I got back he was still there.

Enjoying a Florida fall morning?  Taking a break from the constant search for food?  I didn’t know, but he didn’t seem to notice me by the window.

After a few minutes he hopped down onto the ground by the pool.  I started to be concerned that maybe he had injured a wing and couldn’t fly, so I finally opened the patio door to let him know I was there.  He hopped up onto the fence at the sound, which didn’t do much to reassure me – I wanted to see him actually take flight now, to make sure that he wasn’t hurt.  He was safely six feet off the ground on the fence, so I turned the dog outside to see if that would make him take to the air.  And he did, stretching his powerful healthy wings and heading to the skies.

I think there may have been something in the yard he had an eye on, since he found a branch nearby and settled there for a few minutes, keeping a keen eye cocked towards the yard.  After a few minutes, he flew away, off to complete his hawkish rounds.  Maybe he really had just been relaxing in the sunshine, enjoying a few minutes silence in the mid-morning air?

~

It’s been quiet this week around the house.  I forget sometimes just how big a personality hubby has, and how big a hole it leaves when he’s gone.  I love my “alone” time, and since we both work from home it’s something I relish when he’s gone for a weekend, or even just an overnight.  But I’m going into day 7 of it now, and I’m missing him something crazy. 

The kids and I went to the movies Friday night.  We saw City of Ember, a fantastic family movie that wasn’t too scary for the 6 year old but kept both the teenager and myself entertained.  That’s a pretty tiny niche, really, and I was glad to find a movie that fit it.  Pizza before, and the leftovers after, and I finished the evening celebrating the release of the Branchflower Report with several glasses of wine.

Saturday was the annual Fall Festival at the elementary school.  The threat of rain (thankfully, just a threat) pushed the duck pond, ring toss, and necklace making booths into the school courtyard where there were honestly too many people and not enough breeze for the space.  More uncomfortable yet was the gym, where they’d set up the jumpy house, face painting, and cake walk – but weren’t allowed to turn on the air conditioner.  I felt bad for the parents who had volunteered to work those activities.  I escaped after only 20 minutes in the stifling space, but they had to stay until their time was done.  Back in the courtyard we used up the rest of our tickets pretty quickly (20 tickets went very, very fast) and then retreated to the school playground.  Here princess and another dozen kids played happily on the slides, monkey bars, and swings, while their parents relaxed under old Florida oaks and enjoyed the breeze that had been missing in the courtyard.  While there were clouds lurking overhead, the rain stayed away, and it was a pretty, peaceful way to spend half an hour.

Back home, I settled in with a book to read while the kids entertained themselves.  And looked up an hour later with my book finished, shocked that the kids had left me for an hour in peace.  Sure this must have been a fluke, I fixed them lunch, then settled down with another book.  And ninety minutes later, had my second book of the day finished.  How long has it been since I was able to sit long enough to finish two books in a day?  Sure, on my plane ride to SF I did, but in my own house, this just doesn’t happen. 

And the house was still quiet, the kids still self entertained.

So I started book three of the day.  C.E. Murphy’s “The Queen’s Bastard”.  Fantastic book, a sort of alternate history set in 16th century Europe.  The link takes you to a review that’s more succinct than anything I feel up to writing – I was up until 2am reading this, and am a bit fuzzy headed for the 6am wakeup call Princess decided to gift me with this morning.  I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series, “The Pretender’s Throne” – which sadly isn’t even available for preorder yet.  It is definitely the sort of book the resonates with me – very strong female characters, a detailed (nearly too much so, at least at 2am) plot line with political intrigue twisting it’s way through every page, and a strong hook to the end that has me wanting more.

Today is somehow half through, and I’m still trying to chase off the morning brain fog.  A Pumpkin Spice Latte and a batch of Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins has me more ready for a nap than anything I should be getting done – laundry, dishes, yard work, shopping.

Mmmmm, nap….