The Consolations of Nature, Even in a Condo

Yesterday morning, I woke up thinking, I have heard frogs all night long.  In our old house, that would not have been unusual; in fact, we had some drama in getting a frog out of our house in July of 2020.  It was a tree frog, so with every jump, he seemed more and more impossible to catch.

But we're in a condo, in a part of downtown Hollywood, Florida that seems increasingly paved over.  I didn't expect to hear frogs.  We are across from an Arts Park, and I remember when the park that was there before was ripped apart to create that Arts Park--large trees taken out, and small trees put in.  But that was 20 years ago, and now those small trees have gotten big.

Our condo building is built in a U shape, and our balcony looks out into the center of the U.  There's a courtyard on the ground floor, and that courtyard has a huge fountain.  It's there in part to be a lovely focal area with tables, but I also think the 2 story fountain blocks some of the traffic noise.

Yesterday we took a break in moving and watched a storm moving in.  We can be on the balcony, and because it's in the curve of the U, we don't get wet when it rains.  I watched a bird flying frantically to get ahead of the scouring wind and rain; it seemed the bird was trying to get above the building, but it ducked into a balcony across and above us.

On Friday, I arrived home to find that my spouse had moved some of our larger milkweed plants over to the balcony.  Will butterflies find us?  I hope so.  In the summer of 2019, I was delighted when butterflies appeared in the garden I created at the picnic area on the concrete deck of the parking garage at work.  Will butterflies be able to find our 6th floor milkweed?  I hope so.

It's been a week of intense sunrises.  The other day, I was walking and looking towards the east, where the red sky made me think about the sailors taking warning.  When I turned and looked west, I was stunned by a gorgeous rainbow in clouds tinted pink and purple.  I don't walk with any gadget that has camera capacity, so it will just live in my memory and in these words.

This week has held so much sorrow:  the climate change report, fires, disease spikes, the death of Nanci Griffith, the fall of Afghanistan, and the list could go on and on.  It's been a good week to be aware of the consolations of nature.