-the red-coated fox-

approaching the east-facing window into the backyard

at the tree-line, and there’s the red-coated fox.

the fox is on the trot from north to south

with the river behind her glistening under early skies,

her long, narrow snout erect and observant, occasionally

swiveling to starboard where I stand, with the black,

short-haired cat watching at the window.

the fox seems to enjoy the dew-cooled, green-coated
lay of the land and the river as I do on early morning walks,

but the fox is not alone in the community she's made for herself.

westward, the new neighbors have three adult Great Danes

with the population of joggers and small-dog walkers

of Gardners Neck Road protected from them by a hastily erected

pole-wired fence.

they’ll bark at anything or anyone crossing their line-of-sight, but

the Great Danes don't indicate an immediate physical threat to passersby.
they seem content to simply bark their preference to be recognized.
but no more than a nudge of their powerful heads would be enough to push

the wire-wall down.
In that event, it's every neighborhood Bichon Frise for itself.

across the road further westward, the young mother and female child
walk to the end of the driveway waiting for the school bus.

the Great Danes bark at the sight of them.

the young mother is intensely concerned, but

the female child is intensely curious.

stopping for the pick-up, the kids in the school bus are intrigued,

feeling safe within their cadmium yellow sheetmetal cocoon.

at the south-side window I can see them

pointing toward the barking Danes from the port-
side windows of the school-bus.

when the bus moves on, the female child goes with it.

the mother walks up the driveway and into her house.

the Great Danes shut-up during the brief pause at their fence.

(quickly, but with common sense interior caution)

I've moved to the east-facing window where

the fox has stopped trotting, sensing the sudden

silence of the Danes, but the cat's active, trying to

prioritize the views of the drama playing out before her:

red-coated fox to the east-northeast

or three Great Danes to the south by east

or mother and child to the south by west
or school bus by the nub of its hood due south

where intermittent cadmium yellow lines assist

on a heading toward the Bay.