Lulling bird call

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 11-10
Location: South Lausanne side entrance, North of Goudy and the Mill Stream Time: 1531-1559
Weather: Raining, overcast skies, 51˚F

There was a lulling shriek/call that rises and smoothly descends to a lower note. It was a crisp, sharp call, yet the bird eluded my view. A blue western scrub jay passed overhead, its rounded wings illuminated above by the overcast sky. It soared down near the Mill Stream with a white object in its beak. After a moment of indecision, it flew to the opposing side of the stream, burying the treasure into the golden big-leaf-maple covered ground. I focused my attentions from a bench near the Mill Stream that was situated directly south of Lausanne. The ground around the bench was littered with cigarettes. A small Cornus n. “Gold Spot” sapling was planted not far from it. Its white petals were barely half the size of the inner disk flowers, which were more than ¾ inches in diameter. The petals ended in a gentle point, reminding me of a dogwood plant. The reddening leaves, 4 to 5 inches long, were drooping in the strong gusts, pointing down to the mound of dark rich earth in which it was planted in. The slender dark mahogany trunk strained against the bamboo cane to which green ties held it in place. Unknowingly, if it was voided of the support, the sapling would eventually genuflect toward Lausanne. In the distance, a gull-like silhouette passed over the rooftops, a few crows cawing as usual, followed by the chirps of a dark-eyed junco.