Sunday, November 25, 2012

Under a raptor's gaze we explored our new yards

Our new apartment community is suburban, several miles south of Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. Like all mundane, civilized neighborhoods I've inhabited, the place is invaded and surrounded by wild patches! Here are several of the first hastily snapped pictures, showing only a few of the wild sides that beckon here.

We're in a bird's-eye view while we stroll the grounds of our new neighborhood.

Fields of "undeveloped land" shelter bunny warrens to our northeast and more wild life! 

Around the edges of the complex grow wooded and grassy patches, harboring wonders.

I find autumn's "messes" most picturesque!

Fallen autumn leaves glow crimson and gold, like bright treasures tossed on drab dirt.

Red leaves gleam on green grass, a merry contrast!

These golden sprinkles sparkling in midair -- are these merely dead leaves?

Sniffing around, this tortoiseshell cat might be musing, "New messages beckon next steps, yet urge caution!"


Trees growing at the edges of civilization -- my imagination stirs enchantment.

This tortoiseshell cat might be musing, "Squirrels climb faster here, too!"

Looking skyward, I imagine we are far from the city...

Bare branches reveal how trees hang on, balancing catastrophe, calm and shifts between extremes, day by day.  


New wild sights, sounds and smells around the edges of the ordinary stir curiosity for cats and humans alike.