The Life Aquatic

We spent the morning bagging cranberries that had been donated by Ocean Spray. Tomorrow, we'll sell them.

In the afternoon we had some odd jobs to do out in the park, and what a superb afternoon. It was sunny. Clear enough now to see the snow on the very tops of some of the mountains. Clear enough to see a school of minnows swimming in the pond, and some frogs, and these two turtles doing the dance of unrequited lust.

The great Brunhilde of a female was going after one of the frogs, the little male just wanting to get him some fine turtlicious arse, was waving his long claws in her face. She ploughed past him like a Sherman tank.

The light was glinting off the surface of the pond as the four of us park employees leant over the railings, watching the aquatic goings-on and enjoying the remains of the afternoon while above us, chickadees and robins flew between trees, twittering and maybe watching us.

A lone chickadee desperately called for females, and a last dragonfly found one.

Perhaps this afternoon was the last of the summer wine and what a strange wine it has proved to be.
An autumn that was coming from the middle of August and a summer that has hung on, fighting the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.