Standing at our kitchen window at 6:20 am, we spotted a wild bunny doing a quick-step down the sloping driveway toward the west woods.  Cliff laughed and told me it was probably heading straight for the lettuce patch in the garden.  With coffee cup in hand, I went outside, stood at the back of the porch and watched through the trees to see what its destination was.  When the bunny arrived at the lettuce, I figured it was all over but the munching, but it zigzagged up and down the garden and disappeared into the tangle of old tree roots.  Four years ago when we had trees removed for the garden area, one huge clump of uprooted tangle remained at the edge of the garden and there was no way to remove or cut it.  Over the years the root ball has sprouted wild iris, moss, and tiny blue flowers.  Carolina wrens, cardinals, other low nesting birds, and bunnies have made homes in the nooks and crannies safe from coyotes and other predators.  Since this unsightly clump has become a habitat for a variety of families, I decided to enhance it and planted a butterfly bush that will eventually block it and a crimson red mandevilla vine to cover the tangles with showy red flowers attracting more hummingbirds and butterflies.  The Carolina wrens and cardinals earn their keep by bouncing around the garden devouring insects and pests.

When my mother was a child living up on the hill in the woods in Hudson, MA, her old home had a wooden kitchen door that slammed whenever anyone entered and exited. When we were growing up on Riverview Street, my father installed a wooden door that slammed so my mother could feel her old home.  A few weeks ago, Cliff and I installed, without the use of any duct tape, a wooden door to the kitchen.......and of course, it slams.

from the kitchen looking out