My Life on the Mississippi

Mid-November 2023

It has been a very mild fall so far this year.  Today is sunny and calm, a beautiful late fall day, made more enjoyable since all of our outside work is finished for the season.

When I sit down to write at my computer, I have a patio door with a large window that looks out at not only the patio, but also on the yard that goes down to the Mississippi.  The trees are mostly bare, and the fall leaves have been mulched so the yard looks pristine.  The river is its usual calm self.

Often, when I first sit down to write, the patio is full of turkeys since the birdfeeder is one floor up, just off the deck.  The turkeys later fill our yard and often our neighbors yard, often a flock of a dozen or two.

The turkeys are in competition with the squirrels and chipmunks which are always there, and occasionally, with ground feeding birds like blue jays.

The other day I saw a young buck with a set of antlers walk across our yard, headed toward the woods.  We often see deer and have never seen a buck with antlers.  Perhaps he was seeking a safe haven since it is deer-hunting season.

Most of all it is peaceful and lovely, this life of mine on the Mississippi.