wordsfromanneli

Thoughts, ideas, photos, and stories.

Monthly Archives: November 2021


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Dim Sum

Sorry. It’s not about Chinese food, although I would love to have some right about now.

The brightness of the sky today got “dim some” when the fog rolled in. After days of heavy rain, the clouds regrouped and pondered their next mode of attack, increasingly darkening the sky as the day wore on.

After a while, the fog moved into our place higher up on the hill, and we lived in a cloud for much of the day.

Even Rufus, the spotted towhee, had trouble finding the feeder until Goldie (the golden crowned sparrow) chirped to let him in on the meal.

Groping, groping as we fly,

What has happened to the sky?

It’s not blue nor full of rain,

Will we see the sun again?

 

Chilly, chilly is the air,

Need to find nutritious fare,

Build our strength and warm us up,

Need some grains for us to sup.

 

Foggy, foggy all around,

Where can all the seeds be found?

Goldie chirps and calls to me,

She’s my compass, friend, I see.

 

Sharing, sharing all the seeds,

She has way more than she needs,

Nice of her to share her lunch,

Think I love her a whole bunch.

 

By the way, Rufus and Goldie both invite you to check out Anneli’s bargains for her books at https://wordsfromanneli.com/2021/11/21/book-bargains/ 

A great deal until Christmas.

 


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Night Visitor

Reggie Raccoon came to visit last night. Emma dog was surprised when she went out for last call. Luckily for her, Reggie was a fast climber.  I don’t think Emma would have come away unscathed from an interaction with Reggie.

 

 

Reggie likes to prowl at night,

Finds it safer without light,

Still he gets caught by surprise,

Up the tree he’s quick to rise.

 

Little dogs might seem so cute,

But it brings out Reggie Brute,

He can be so fiercely mean,

After all the fights he’s seen.

 

Up the tree’s the safest thing,

Better than the fighting ring,

Reggie needs to watch his back,

Just in case the dogs attack.

 

Waiting in the branch’s crook,

Fearful moments while he shook,

Seem a lifetime till it’s clear,

And he can release his fear.

 

All he wanted was to check,

If the squirrels had left a speck,

They are given so much food,

Thought they’d share if in the mood.

 

Nothing left though, that was clear,

And when coupled with the fear,

Reggie wonders why he came,

He must find some other game.

 

In the meantime he will smile,

For the camera all the while,

Long as he can look so sweet,

He can hope they’ll leave a treat.

 

 

Meanwhile Emma’s found a spot,

Where she can relax a lot,

Reggie doesn’t want to play,

Maybe try another day.

 

 

By the way, Emma says,  Don’t forget to look at Anneli’s bargains for her books at https://wordsfromanneli.com/2021/11/21/book-bargains/ 

 


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Book Bargains

In the month before Christmas I have marked my novels down to US $.99. This way you can load up your e-reader with five novels to keep you turning pages for about $5.00 total. Hours of entertainment for very little cost.

What will you get for 99 cents each?

Orion’s Gift

When Sylvia receives devastating news, she knows she has to leave her California home. While hiding away in the Baja Peninsula, living in a camper van, she meets a man with a similar dilemma. Both must avoid the spouses pursuing them, or be forced to return to the intolerable misery of their past. Will the sparks they feel for each other help see them through or only make their problems worse?

Baja camping is not without its dangers and both runaways must learn to trust and mistrust at the right times.

*****

The Wind Weeps

Andrea leaves big-city boredom in Ontario to search for love and a new life on B.C.’s rugged coast. The love of two men and a woman leads her into the world of commercial fishing. But soon, her adventure becomes a nightmare. The beauty of her surroundings is at odds with the terror that she lives every day. Trapped in an isolated cabin on the coast, she will need to test her newly acquired wilderness skills if she ever hopes to escape. Be sure to follow up with the sequel, Reckoning Tide.

*****

 

Reckoning Tide

 

*****

 

Marlie

Unlucky in love, Marlie flees a bad relationship. She accepts a teaching job in the remote Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii). The beauty of the islands and the rugged challenge of northern living enthrall her. A good-looking artist has his eye on her. The perfect gentleman. Or is he? And what about that handsome fisherman? Is he just a bit too real for her with his hunting and fishing? Just as Marlie hopes that her life has made a turn for the better, disaster strikes. She is shocked to see her life spiraling downwards yet again. How could she have made such an error in judgement—an error that sets more bad luck in motion?
Not willing to lose control, Marlie takes a deep breath and sets out to get her life back on track. But can she do it alone?
Set in the remote islands of coastal British Columbia, Marlie is a heartfelt romance of love and loss and love again.
Experience the fears and joys of northern island living and delight in a second chance at true love.

 

Julia’s Violinist

Julia’s Violinist takes us to postwar Europe for an unbiased story of a love triangle.  Julia is widowed with two children at the end of WWll. She remarries and hopes to pick up the pieces to put her broken life back together. It isn’t going well. A letter arrives from her first love from twenty years ago. After all these years, he is alive and wants her to join him in a new life. She struggles with morality and a chance for happiness. Life’s decisions are not always easy and they can come at a huge price.

*****

To find out more about these novels, you can visit my website:

www.anneli-purchase.com

You can also click on the book cover images at the side of this post to go to amazon. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can go to smashwords.com to get these e-books for all types of e-reader formats.


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American Thanksgiving

Just when you think things are so bad that you have nothing to be thankful for, along comes the Thanksgiving holiday to remind us of so many blessings in our lives.

I won’t begin to name any of the thousands of things we have to be thankful for. Each of us has a perspective uniquely our own. Some might be thankful for good health, while others in failing health are thankful for other things that they have come to appreciate. Some might be thankful for having lots of money, while others are just as happy with much less.  My own thought on that is ,”Money isn’t everything, but it sure helps.”

Whatever your circumstances allow, it’s important to make the most of the good things in life.

If you are lucky enough to be with friends or family on Thanksgiving, why not share some of the things you are truly thankful for.

H     Home for holidays is fine,

A     Appetizers, and some wine,

P     Pie dessert is understood,

P     Pumpkin’s always pretty good,

Y     Yams and taters fill the plate,

T     Turkey dinner would be great.

H     Happy family, sisters, brothers,

A     Aunts and uncles and their “others,”

N     No one needs to be left out,

K     Kinship’s what it’s all about.

S     So much to be thankful for,

G    Guests and family we adore.

I     It’s a happy time of year,

V    Valued friends that bring us cheer.

I     It’s a ritual affair,

N   Nothing else can quite compare,

G   Giving thanks for all we share.

 

In case you have trouble getting a turkey this year with all the supply chain problems just choose one of these Merriam’s wild turkeys I “shot” for you by the Missouri River.

 

To all my American friends and family, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving holiday.

 

 


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Winter Prep

Hi, I’m Crispin. Remember me from a few weeks ago in the maple tree?

I wasn’t much bigger than a Coffee Crisp bar then, and I’m not a lot bigger now, but it isn’t for want of eating enough.

I tried this wood but it wasn’t that tasty. Think I’ll try the walnuts instead.

My older brother Jasper is also hanging around today, but I want to avoid him. He gets annoyed if I try to eat from what he calls HIS plate.

Oh, I think I hear him up there gnawing on the old moose antlers.

Maybe I’ll sneak over to the walnut stash while he’s busy.

I just hope that Steller’s jay isn’t hanging around. He has a sharp beak, like  a spear. Maybe when I grow up I’ll take him on, but for now, it’s better to play it safe.

See that beak? This was him last week with the sunflower seeds, but maybe he won’t try stealing the walnuts today…. Fat chance.

I was just about to head for the jar of walnuts when I saw that huge tool behind me. Is that a pick axe? Yikes! Made me lose my footing!

Okay, I’m all recovered now. My mother, Della, told me always to say grace before eating, so here goes. (I don’t think the god of squirrels will mind if I don’t close my eyes. Not a safe thing to do.)

And with that out of the way, I can dive in!

Yummy walnuts from the ornamental black walnut tree.

Many dangers, all I see,

Many dangers threaten me,

Tiptoe lightly as a breeze,

Tiptoe quickly, and then freeze.

 

Look around from left to right,

Look around, stay out of sight,

Hurry to the walnut stash,

Hurry, careful, do not crash.

 

Grab some nutmeat and abscond,

Grab the food of which I’m fond,

Nibble some and hide the rest,

Nibble fast and save the best.

 

Winter chill is coming soon,

Winter winds, perhaps typhoon,

Be prepared for hungry days,

Be prepared, these are my ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Mr. Roy G. Biv

We’ve had crazy weather here lately with lots of wind and rain, but up in the hills, that rain took the form of snow. You can see that the freezing level is still fairly high, so we’ve been spared the snow for a while yet.

So while it snowed up high, it rained down low, but then the sun came out.

And with it came a friend of mine, Mr. Roy G. Biv.

 

But you must be wondering who Roy G. Biv is. Well, let me introduce you to him in the photo below.

Roy G. Biv is a colourful guy. If you take the first letters of his name, you’ll be able to remember all the colours of the rainbow in the order that they appear in the sky.

R = red

O = orange

Y = yellow

G = green

B = blue

I = Indigo

V = violet

 

*****

 

Rainbow Roy is quite the boy,

Giving joy immense,

Colours bright are quite a sight,

Though the sky is dense.

 

Clouds of rain are such a pain,

Bringing on the shivers,

Pouring down upon the ground,

Flowing past in rivers.

 

Near the peak the snowflakes streak,

Settling on the trees,

How I hope it coats the slope,

Don’t come down here, please.

 

Rainbow blaze, my senses daze,

Long as I shall live,

It’s a sight that brings delight,

Mr. Roy G. Biv.

 

 

 


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Spotted Towhee

This towhee and the eastern towhee both used to be called rufous- sided towhees, but to differentiate it from the eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), it is  now called a spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus).

 

Rufus is trying to figure out the best way to get into Lincoln the squirrel’s food.

“Have you ever been undecided, and had a foot in each camp?” he asks.

He finally decided to just go for it. Showing off his acrobatic skills.

No, he didn’t get put in jail for stealing Lincoln’s sunflower seeds. He’s just hiding here in plain sight. Nothing can get him here behind this maze of twigs.

“And no,” he says, ” I didn’t pull an all-nighter. My eyes are always red.”