TheBanyanTree: The Upper Deck

[Margaret R. Kramer]

Our 1970s house is a split level with a walk out basement, so the upper
level is like a second story in the back.  Our loft is on this upper level.
One wall of the loft is a patio door which goes out to the upper deck.  Ray
built the lower deck two years ago and it sits under the oak trees.

The upper deck is in the oak trees.  It’s a small deck with just enough room
for two chairs, a couple of little tables, and lots of potted flowers.  It’s
the only place in our backyard that the sun manages to snake through the
houses and the trees and have its rays shine on it with full force for most
of the day.  There are no stairs leading to the backyard.  It’s a self
contained space, and because it’s off the beaten path of our house, it’s
almost like a hiding spot.

If I wasn’t so busy in the mornings, it would be the perfect place for me to
enhance my fake tan (I use tanning beds to get my dark summer look).

But when the flowers are in full bloom and the busy part of the day is
slipping into evening’s less frantic time, I’m drawn to the upper deck.  I
settle into a chair and gaze into the maze of green leaves with twisty turny
branches.

How can the squirrels navigate those turns so fast?  The baby squirrels
almost fly from branch to branch.  Sometimes they miss and one plops to the
ground, only to claw its way back up the tree where the others are waiting.

I can see the blue of the blue jays through the haze.  I usually hear the
cardinals before I can spot the bright red of the male and I really have to
look to find the pale female amidst the green leaves.  I can see the gold
and purple finches at the thistle bird feeder.

After I finish my survey of the trees, I’ll read for a while.  Ray is
usually in the loft and through the open door, I can hear the TV  and I can
half listen to the Twins losing another baseball game.

I hear the fading voices of the neighborhood kids as one by one they go into
their houses.  I can hear the drone of the cars from the freeway a few miles
away.  The sound gets fainter and fainter as the evening moves into night
and less cars have to be on the road.

The full moon begins its night journey.  I spot it in the small patch of sky
that’s visible to me through the branches.  That’s my signal to go into the
house and join Ray on the big green couch in the loft and find out how bad
the Twins got beat.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at earthlink.net

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