Heard a knock at the dining room window. Just one. Not too loud. Not made by a human hands, though. Would have been much louder. And, more than one knock.

No, this was the sound of a bird mistaking the interior of my Conshohocken home as its exterior World. A window assault!

The bird attacked the window. Flew right into it. Had to hurt. Hit the pane with its head. Dead on. Ouch! Looked for the critter, but saw nothing on the concrete walk beneath the bay window. Only thing I saw was a squirrel looking through yesterday’s bird seed scattered on the ground beneath an empty feeder.

Was the bird tying to tell me something? End your mediation in the adjoining room, get off your cushion and return to the World where you’re needed in Nature? Where beings have grown dependent on your generosity and daily routine? Feed me Daddy! Feed me!

Do they sense the absence of the chickens? The rabbits? No one to compete with for seed, pieces of crackers or bread? They’re put away for the Fall, locked in the chicken coop to keep warm while the temperatures drop, and the rain we got the past few nights make for a miserable sleeping conditions out-of-doors. Captured the two pet rabbits yesterday. Actually, my son Nicholas  found ’em huddled in the chicken coop (shed) behind the dog house next to the ferret cage we keep in the coop. (We have neither a dog nor a ferret, but use their housing accommodations for our other critters, five chickens and two rabbits.) The rabbits must have tired of the long periods of rain we’ve had and decided to give up their outdoor adventure for a guaranteed source of food and water, as well as a comfortable roof over their heads. They returned after a month hiatus outside the shed.

Chickens had slept in a large bush, but recently migrated to a nearby tree with low branches after the “lawn man” trimmed their favorite bush. Slept out doors and got a great jump on worms for their morning breakfast. Now, they’re back to sharing their quarters with the hares and away from the wildlife that calls our yard their home.

Mostly common sparrows and squirrels. The wildlife, that is. We get an occasional skunk and possum, but their visits are rare. Several mourning doves visit daily, two of whom we named Thelma and Louise. Those birds always come in pairs or more. Never see just one of them in the yard or back patio. We also get black birds, Blue Jays and the most colorful, the Cardinal. Not sure which bird went “kamikaze” at the window. Never have seen one lying on the ground injured from such a blow. Guess they’re a lot like football players who get knocked down while “hitting” a goal line defense and get thrown back without seeing what “hit them” or what they flew into.

Just another Autumn day in Nature. The Philadelphia Phillies made it into the Major League’s Baseball divisional playoffs for a chance to return to the World Series for a third straight year. Not used to caring this much about baseball this time of year. Phillies have generally been with the bottom-dwelling teams. Almost unnatural to be cheering ’em as you wonder when the first frost will eventually develop.

Ain’t Nature wonderful? Announcing its change of season in such subtle ways you don’t know its changed until it hits you just in time for another Life’s go-around? Takes a simple knock on your window, sometimes, for you to fully appreciate it.