butterball chickadee

a  small, butterball

black-capped chickadee

picks daintily at what seed

is left after other birds

have been at the birdseed tray

the sunrise fades pale orange

to gray behind him

as he breakfasts with genteel

unhurried manners

osprey spring

osprey male alone, perched atop their pole

waiting, spying, swooping

lifting to refine their nest from years ago, waiting

and now she’s come, his mate

the nest their focus, with joy times smuggled

speaking softly their language of love and devotion

before demanding chicks

take up their summer days in feeding and protecting

a pair, a team vital, to each other

and to the survival of the osprey race