silent morning?

From inside the house, it seemed to be a noiseless high-desert sunrise.

But outside 

the whirr and squeak of hummingbirds' continual zooming starfighter battles, fierce defense of the feeder, and unpredictable pause to drink side by side before resuming

the dry-grass rustling of turkeys in threes and fours, no longer the 30-bird herds of early summer

the low yowls of racoons returning for the day to dens across the driveway 

the clopping and crashing of three velvet-horned young mule deer stags sauntering and bounding

the distant "don't WANT to" of quail

the yip of coyotes floating up from 1,000 feet below

the unexpected, too-close shoveling and grunting of a skunk digging a hole under an outbuilding

finally, the restless prowl of the hunting cat turning into the purrs of a lap warmer

Welcome to the day.