first spring crocuses

paint sharp shadows on a rock

and bask in the sun

--jmb

winter fungi cling

drawing out the last of life

from the yellow birch

-jmb

ancient lichened snake

slithering up the bare oak

oh...just a grapevine

--jmb

two male cardinals

hunkered down against the wind

too cold to squabble

--jmb

house finches feeding

glad to find sunflower seed

on an icy day

--jmb

not a northern flicker,

this red-bellied woodpecker

has no belly spots.

--jmb

downy woodpeckers

out for an afternoon treat

mmmm...peanut butter

--jmb

the plant kingdom too

has its prickly porcupines:

spiny sweetgum balls

--jmb

still decorated

for Christmas long after Twelfth Night:

holly's red berries

--jmb

chick-a-dee-dee-dee

chattering, chirping, chiding:

Dan!!! More bird seed please!

--jmb

where a limb once was

now an elegant front door

perhaps for a bug

--jmb

a fur-covered bud

wrapped tight against winter winds

spring's magnolia

--jmb

wild distant seas

mysterious continents

mapped on sycamores

--jmb

leaves cling steadfastly

to the great white oak branches

always last to fall

--jmb

bright-eyed and wary

a nervous tufted titmouse 

wants to eat alone

--jmb

cozy home for rent

a bit windblown but well-made

by Mother Robin

--jmb

sodden sweetgum leaves

rain drops cling to wet branches

See! the world in each!

--jmb

five purple petals

waxy green leaves--this year's

first periwinkle

--jmb

sturdy points of green

freshly chilled in icy snow

worshipping the sun

--jmb