Behind the Puddle

One ordinary moment, observed behind the puddle.

July 2026

  • The Birds Sounded Giddy

    Brian filled ALL the bird feeders today. Not just a little bit, either. The feeders are full, the ground underneath them is covered, and apparently everyone in the neighborhood has been notified that the buffet is officially open. When he came back inside, his exact words were: “You should have heard the birds in the… Continue reading

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  • The Shape of Steadiness 

    Today wasn’t a patio day. The rain came in waves, and the air was so heavy that even stepping outside felt like work. Instead of spending the day behind the puddle, we spent it running errands, watching the weather through a windshield instead of from our chairs. Along the way I came across this quote,… Continue reading

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  • Sometimes You Meet a Human

    Before long, it seems that if you spend enough evenings behind the puddle, you eventually get to meet a human. This evening, while Brian and I were enjoying the quiet from the patio, we noticed a young boy standing behind the brush at the edge of the empty lot, trying his luck with a fishing… Continue reading

  • The Comfort of Being Unbothered

    This afternoon I pulled into the driveway, parked beside the white pine, gathered my things, opened the car door, and looked up. There was Pinecone. Already settled into the white pine, happily working away at the woodpecker’s suet log. The funny part wasn’t that Pinecone was there. By now we’ve come to expect an occasional… Continue reading

  • The Ones I Don’t Know

    Some of the birds have become familiar companions. The herons are impossible to miss when they glide across the puddle. The hawks almost always catch my attention simply because of their size. After nearly twenty years, the purple martins belong to this neighborhood as much as any of us do. Every now and then I… Continue reading

  • The Empty Feeder (Part Two)

    Yesterday I admitted something that I suspect many people who feed wildlife quietly wrestle with. The bird feeders were empty. I knew they would probably stay that way until Friday, and I couldn’t help wondering if the birds would leave. Had they become too dependent on my routine? Would they find another yard? Would I… Continue reading

  • Some Days are Quiet

    Some days behind the puddle are full of stories. Other days are simply quiet. Today felt like one of those quiet days. Even with a 15 degree drop in temperature from yesterday, it seemed like everything slowed down. Maybe we all needed the break. I watched Stella from the window for about twenty minutes while… Continue reading

  • The Tin That Wasn’t Just for Geese

    When I set out the cracked corn pan, I thought I knew who it was for. The geese would come. Maybe a few birds would help themselves. That was the plan. Then one evening a Taco decided the pan wasn’t a dinner plate at all. It became a chair… or perhaps the coolest seat in… Continue reading

  • When Familiar Things Find Us Again

    We sometimes worry that when life changes, the things we once loved will no longer find us. A new home, a new routine, a new way of seeing the world can feel like leaving something behind. Then, one ordinary evening, a familiar dove lands on the fence. It doesn’t arrive because we called it. It… Continue reading

  • Not Every Neighbor Wants to Be Known

    Not Every Neighbor Wants to Be Known

    Shelly has lived in our puddle for quite some time now. At least, I think she has. Truthfully, I can’t say with certainty if every sighting is the same turtle or another one passing through. That’s part of Shelly’s story. She has never made identification easy. She appears without announcement, usually somewhere out in the… Continue reading