Out at the Rancho, where I rarely am on a weekday morning this early in the season. Birds everywhere -- two pairs of cardinals!-- and just now a couple of big snorts and a lot of thrashing in the woods on my right. Doe's standing in the trees, swishing her tail. Snorts again, more swishing, then she vanishes. I have two theories. I see that doe a lot, coming out of that spot to raid my garden. Maybe she lives there and something woke her up from her morning nap. The fox the crows were chasing last week? That was where they burst from, that same spot. Or, maybe she was on its way through and she came upon something unexpected -- like the fox. Maybe the fox is the one who lives there. A fox wouldn't try to take down a deer but would get all up in her face if she got too near its lair. Maybe I'm going to have fox kits this summer!

Meanwhile, all kinds of children noises from across the road. Finally I get it: that's the elementary school where I go shoot hoops on the weekend. Recess! They're still in session. For me it's summer, but for kids, not so. Soon, but not yet.