October 22, 2021

Unexpected frenzy of housecleaning, brought on by finding mildew on some wallets I’d stored in a drawer. Unexpected satisfaction. Days like days in a movie of the Perfect Life, blazing and yet clement. I’d not filled the feeders since spring, so the birds are slow in coming back. The downy woodpecker will not just fly onto the dish, but must climb up the pedestal and into the dish, as though it were a tree.  I realize I’ve been a vegetarian for about a month, not on purpose, but because when I think of what I want to eat it has been vegetables. More corn-on-the-cob than in the last decade.