Last night two yearlings walked by us in the yard. The baby skunks are still rambling at night. The bird feeders are loaded up with finches, wrens, junkos, and the doves clean up what they drop. Squirrels jump and fly across the patio. We see evidence of coyotes, though I haven’t spotted one yet. Two nights ago an owl ruffled my ear with its hooting. Hawks know this is a good feeding ground and wait patiently in the trees.

The trees. So many, so healthy, green in a million shades. Oak, maple, apricot, conifer, and a dozen others I can’t identify. Flowers all over, including three prolific orchids and bright yellow lilies. All of this feeds me.

The beast likes beasts and birds and buds and branched beings.