September | 2023 | wordsfromanneli

September 26, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 54 Comments

An Omen of Change

It helicoptered from the tree,

This golden flaky leaf,

It’s happening, and I can see,

The maple is in grief.

The summer days are sadly gone,

Those romping times were fun,

But autumn’s here, we must move on

From lazing in the sun.

Without the maple’s leafy dress,

Her long arms will be bare,

No hiding places for the squirrels

Who used to scamper there.

It’s sad to see the warm days go,

And we’ll be soused with rain,

The leaves will swirl, the wind will blow,

As autumn comes again.

But as the summer weather sours,

Rambunctious days retire,

I’ll find a way to pass the hours,

Chew slippers by the fire.

September 22, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 42 Comments

Maisie’s Return

You may remember my poor Maisie the Mouse who got caught by Emma, was rescued, and then bit her rescuer.

If you want a refresher, visit this link: https://wordsfromanneli.com/2023/08/29/whoever-said-life-was-fair/

Well, it seems that Maisie would not stay away after her lucky escape that time.

For about three days, Emma the English cocker spaniel had smelled something enticing in the kindling box outside the back door. It was not woodstove weather yet, so the box had some left over plant starter pots in it, but Emma kept dragging me over there. She wanted to investigate.

I was not interested in rooting through those old pots and have giant house spiders run over my hands so I kept Emma away from the box.

Finally, the Captain said, “Let’s check out what’s in that box.”

“You first,” I told him.

Rooting around in the bits of kindling and starter planting pots, the Captain searched for only a few seconds.

“Here it is! I wonder if it’s the same mouse that bit you. I should kill it or it’ll just end up chewing the wiring out of the truck one of these days, just like the last family of mice did.”

“Awww … no ….. It’s just a little mouse.”

“Well, okay.” He picked up the box and brought it over to the garden in front of the house. Maisie (I’m sure it was her) jumped to try to get out of the box but couldn’t get up high enough.

The Captain tipped the box on its side and Maisie ran out. She headed for a spot where I had dumped a lot of hazelnut and walnut shells, and snuggled into them. I think they must have been warm from the sun. Then she lay there and didn’t move except for the occasional twitching of her ears.

It’s oh, so warm and cozy here,

My last three days were cold.

No ray of sunshine did appear,

I feared I’d not grow old.

No drink of water, and no food,

And I could not get out,

I lost my usual happy mood,

Survival was in doubt.

But now I’m soaking up the sun,

It’s warming me clear through,

As soon as I feel I can run,

I’ll find something to chew.

*****

You see all those nutshells? I was the one who cracked them, as I do every year, but this time the nutcracker irritated a part of my finger right in the spot where Maisie bit me a month ago. It swelled up and the redness started to spread, so I went to see the doctor, and apologized for bothering him with such a small thing. He said, “You did right to come. You’ll need some antibiotics.” The spreading redness has receded now and I’m relieved.

But I still can’t get over how Maisie tried to kill me for rescuing her from Emma.

The Captain says I survived a wild animal bite. Sounds ferocious, doesn’t it?

September 17, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 35 Comments

He’s a Fun Guy!

If I have him identified correctly, he’s a fun guy, but he’s a bit of a schwein, a pig. I think this fungi’s name is Phaeolus schweinitzii. Sounds like a sexy pork schnitzel, but in fact, it is not for eating. It will make you very sick or maybe kill you if you eat it. But we’re okay. We’re just looking at it and it shouldn’t make us go blind.

I read on Wikipedia that this fun guy can rot the butt of a fir tree. Not a nice guy, this fungi.

Here is “Baby Bear,” just beginning to grow in my yard.

Here is “Mama Bear,” just a bit bigger.

And here is “Papa Bear.” I thought it looked like a layer of slightly burnt pancakes, but the grass had me wondering – did the grass grow through it, or did the fungus grow around it?

So if you can’t use it, what’s the good of it?

Well, apparently, it is also called “dyer’s polybore,” and mixed with the right mordant (fixative) this fungus makes rich brown dyes that can be used to dye wool.

I’m going to rush right out and try that.

September 15, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 44 Comments

Kokanee Glacier Park

These photos were sent to me by a friend who was visiting Kokanee Glacier Park. He and friends stayed in a nearby cabin and did some hiking and biking.

Below is a glimpse of part of the glacier. Located north of Nelson in beautiful British Columbia, it is a relatively small glacier at 1.7 square kilometers, and getting smaller all the time, as it gradually melts away.

A hike took my friend much closer to the glacier itself.

Time to relax by the lake to take a breather from a bike ride.

A 9-km hike with a 1000-ft rise in elevation gave the group a good workout. If you click to enlarge the picture you can see two red spots in the middle of the picture below; two of the hikers climbing up ankle-threatening rocks.

All this suffering (just kidding – they call it fun and good exercise) for a closer look at part of the glacier. It looks like it has been melting quite a bit in the last few years.