For the very first time in the history of ever, I have an office with a window. In fact, a whole wall of windows. Now, granted, there’s not THAT much to see at first glance. Just a few square feet of dirt with a few weeds and fallen leaves, a five-foot high, mud colored wall, and the tops of the trees on the property behind it. But I’ve got plenty of critters.
First are the cats. There are three feral cats that have claimed the territory surrounding our building. They’ve all been captured and fixed, so they won’t be adding to the population problem, and one of the ladies here at work leaves them food and water. But they’re pretty aloof (duh – they’re cats), and seldom visible out my window. Though the youngest, a black and white named Boots, has on a couple of occasions parked herself on top of the wall, right where the dangling foliage is thickest, staring at me with a satisfied look that says “I’m invisible you silly mortal.”
Next are the squirrels, at least two but possibly more. Seldom the day goes by without my spotting at least one zipping by on top of the wall. Occasionally one stops to nibble a pilfered goodie or wonder if he’s left the gas on. From time to time, though, I am treated to the hysterical sight of a squirrel draped over the top of the wall, looking for all the world like he’s had a REALLY bad night with a bottle of acorn ale, right down to the surly hungover face. Unfortunately, they are armed with a sixth sense that allows them to assume this leisurely posture only at times when I do not have my camera.
And finally, the birds. I moved to Austin last summer, after having ensured 20 some-odd years in El Paso. The only birds I’m used to seeing are either vultures, hawks, pigeons, grackles, and some drab, nondescript smaller types. Okay, that’s not entirely true – they do have hummingbirds. But now from my window I regularly see songbirds. Bright, beautiful, colorful songbirds. Nesting somewhere in the complex of trees outside my window is a pair of bluejays, which I find to be quite a visual treat. Not so easy on the ears, though – Og Almighty, they’re obnoxious. I’ve spotted a couple of cardinals as well, though only fleetingly.
And then there’s the mockingbird. I can’t make up my mind if he’s amazingly resilient or breathtakingly stupid. Or both. All day long he’s been trying to perch on one of my windows in order to get to the snail that has clued itself to the center of a glass pane. Every few minutes I hear flutteringing and tapping, and look up to find the same mockingbird attempting to grab hold of a perfectly flat surface. He’s been at it since at least 8:30.
I’ve tried numerous times to take pictures of my wildlife collection, but my camera does not seem to be up to the task. Shutter speed is too slow, so even when the critter is sitting fairly still the resulting image is blurry. Ah well.