we live in small town ohio

on the back porch
sipping morning coffee watching
our pet wild squirrel,
not pet really,
call her acquaintance,
who takes peanuts from our hand
and presses her paw on ours
gently, touching the human goodbye
and thanks, as she pushes off.
we’d like to give her fuzz a rub
but she won’t stand for it;
she may be squirrel
but is not nuts.

now high above.
on a taunt electrical wire stretched pole to pole.
there she is comfortably sitting,
relaxing, thirty feet in the air.
then casually turning around

below is our small backyard pond
four hops long and three hops wide
where four large frogs
each on a different pond side
sun on the rocks.

a swooping shadow across my old wooden lab
then a splash in the pond
the first of our two mating ducks arrives.
she climbs out on a rock and twists her head around
to preen her feathers
looking good, feeling good.
he'll be in in a minute.

while practically downtown we are,
traffic here is wildlife.
rabbits i haven’t seen this year.
a large fox just sauntered through our yard;
he’s would have seen them, would eat them.
out front passing deer
are early risers.