What I See Out The Window When I’m At The Computer

We authors spend so much time at our computers that what we see beyond the big screen becomes extremely familiar to us. Any movement or change to my window scene catches my attention, distracting me in a good way.

My giant naval orange tree partly obscured by my computer, always makes me feel good. I get juicy, sweet oranges all year long, enough to gift to friends and neighbors. Plentiful, odoriferous blossoms fill the air continuously; at least one ready-to-eat orange drops from the tree each day. With a tree so fruitful, I have to up my game as a wordsmith, for sure.

Purple flowered Mexican sage abounds near the fence, offering another rich smell to my yard. And there sits my little grapefruit tree, working hard to produce two giant orbs per year. I can certainly produce one book per year, can’t I?

But it’s the plum tree that has me most distracted as well as energized. Seems that a Nuttall’s Woodpecker has pounded out a hole in the tree and is raising babies inside the trunk! Their sharp Ka-teak tells me they are home; they also whinny or rattle. I’ve seen Mom and Dad Nuttall around, but a couple ladder-backed Woodpeckers visit the nest as well. Could be because both the Nuttall and the Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are related to the Downy Woodpecker-a species watching out for one another.  Even as I’m writing this, a red-winged blackbird just showed up and Dad chased him away. I worry about cats getting at the birds (and I’ve chased two of them from my yard); after all, the nest is only four feet up from the ground! Still, when I walked by the hole in the trunk the other day, I did hear chirping, so I think the babies are safe.

Outside my writing window, nature continues its cycles, prompting me to keep writing. I am inspired every day!