I am sitting on the porch of my parent's home eating high fiber cereal that may very well be cardboard, but that's another story. It is 8 AM and the sun hasn't fully risen so the sky is still gray. Everything is wet from the rain last night and just a little chilly from the ensuing cold front making its way in town. Florida's winter consists of nothing but a cluster of rainy cold fronts that float through to relieve the state of its scorching hot and humid summer days. Fall is surpassed by rain and on comes the most beautiful time of year.

As I chomp on my oat clusters, my three cats are all perched around me. One has its attention on the milk in my bowl, but the other two are in stalker mode as they watch the movement going on outside. There are multiple sounds echoing in the air. The usual sound of the highway rumbles in the distance, but I've learned to drown that out by now. This morning it is the sounds of nature that have caught my attention, sounds that I normally don't pay attention to because I don't have time. On this particular morning I took the time.

Frogs are croaking and multiple species of birds are chirping very loudly as if they are all talking to each other and planning their day. I look into the wooded lot next door and see rustling in the bushes and vines growing wildly around the large trees in there. Soon a blue bird comes hopping out followed by a red one, which I'm assuming is a Cardinal, but I'm not even sure they live in Florida. The chase each other around playfully chirping and I think to myself, "Isn't it ironic how two different colored animals, competing for the same breakfast, can hop around together as if it made no difference."

Soon it seems that every bird in the neighborhood is awake now and are all clearing their throats at once. A distinct, squeaky chirp catches my ear high in the leaf bare tree in across from me. I look up to see a read headed woodpecker inspecting its branches and chirping at it as if to summon all the worms to poke their heads out.

I've finished my cereal and put my bowl in the sink. I return to the porch to take in more of the festivities. I notice that the wooded area in the distance is bustling with the sounds of hundreds of birds singing in unison. It sounds like a party at first but after a while begins to ring in my ears like the scratching of nails on a chalk board. I shake it off and decide it's time to take my dog for his morning walk.

So I get dressed and bring my camera along, just in case, because I love to take nature photos as a hobby. I step outside and the first thing I see is a brown rabbit on my front lawn. I had no idea my neighborhood was such a wilderness. I had no idea so much life was located near my home. I then wondered where it all disappeared to during the day.

I take a couple steps down the block when I notice a large bird sitting on a high wire up in the sky. It's a hawk that I have seen many times before, but he has never allowed me to get this close. I stand under him and snap some pictures hoping that he won't fly away. He takes no notice of me and I am delighted. When my dog finally notices him sitting there, he throws a few loud barks his way but the Hawk just looks at him as if to say, "You've got to be kidding me." Then he continues to spin his head around scanning the area. I couldn't believe he didn't mind me standing right under him. It was like he knew that there was no way that I could climb up there to get him.

It started to rain again, so I went back inside and back to the patio. I resumed watching the woodpecker still summoning the worms when all of a sudden a loud, raspy chirping came flying my way. I turned around to see a large, gray egret flying passed me and landing in the small culvert in my backyard. He waded through the water that came up to what appeared to be his knees and pecked the mud for worms. I enjoy this site when suddenly more noises catch my attention. It sounds like a stampede in the sky and I look up to see a group of 20-40 birds all spread out flying by. I shout, "Holy crap!" in shock because I could not get over how much life was happening right in my own backyard.

Now the sun began to fully rise and it was almost 9 AM. All the birds stopped talking and seemed to have gotten where they were going for the morning. I'm a little saddened to think that I can't stay and watch more of this little part of the world, but I have to get back to mine.