March 4, 2009 6:03

Pale blue sky shifts to steel gray in dimming light. 
Cloud begins to fade, no longer distinguishable.
Six ducks circle directly overhead.
A second group appears, making rounds on an invisible track, seeming to squeak with the bursts of flapping that keep them aloft.
Around and around, circling just above the tree line.
Another group appears unannounced from behind.
Joining together, first 16, then 20, now 30 or more.
I can no longer keep track as they flit around and between.

Now gone, leaving me alone with the smell of woodsmoke, and that lone, blinking-red star atop the radio antenna.