Birds | wordsfromanneli

November 29, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 68 Comments

Winter,

Sudden and merciless,

Descends with a force,

Uninvited.

Clinging,

In the lee of the wind,

Near his source of food,

Hummingbird waits.

Snowstorm,

Filling every cranny,

Chilling and killing,

Bitter cold wind.

Howling,

Snowy blasts roaring by,

Threatening small lives,

Take shelter quick.

October 27, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 42 Comments

The Calm

… before the storm.

The ducks all facing outward

Are waiting for their snack,

They find it in the shallows,

It makes their lips go smack.

The heron facing inward,

Has patience yet to spare,

He hopes to spear a morsel,

With no intent to share.

All take advantage of the last,

Relaxing stretch of peace,

They feel the system moving fast,

Soon comes the ugly beast.

Photo by Pat G.

The licorice scent of fennel wafts,

Along the last warm breeze,

A thousand seeds fly in the drafts,

To inundate with ease.

Ms. Barbara Beacham’s hollyhock,

Has found a home with me,

Although Ms. Beacham’s sent a shock,

And could no longer be.

Her lovely flowers bloom each year,

She sends her love that way,

I cherish her with thoughts so dear,

Much more than I can say.

A last sweet effort quickly made,

The berry patch is done,

No strawberries are left to raid,

Except for just this one.

And here it comes, the mighty beast,

So dark, this sunshine thief,

It brings much-needed rain at least,

To every plant’s relief.

It slaps the trees ferociously,

It whips the leaves around,

But they hang on tenaciously,

On hearing such a sound.

The wind is shivery at best,

Each leaf is hanging on,

They’re hoping to survive the test,

Until this breeze is gone.

September 8, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 29 Comments

Student Teacher

I thought I’d try my hand at writing a sonnet. 14 lines in iambic pentameter (da-DAH, da-DAH, da-DAH, da-DAH, da-DAH), three stanzas of four lines and one of two. Rhyming pattern ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.

A student teacher starting out anew,

Stood scared before a class of girls and boys,

She struggled to remember what to do,

And wondered how to teach with all that noise.

Her shaking hands, her quivering voice aside,

She took a breath and said to form a line.

“I’m happy to be teaching you,” she lied.

“It’s your first day of school, and also mine.”

“Please take your seats,” the bashful teacher said.

But one child called out loud, “I like your dress.”

“Why thank you dear. It seems we both like red.”

Her trepidation causing her distress.

And like a duck with feathers preened and neat,

Below her, hidden, paddled urgent feet.

September 7, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 24 Comments

Elusive dinner

Wriggles deeper in the stump,

Woodpecker persists.

September 5, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 41 Comments

Lukewarm

“How’s the water down there?

“Oh, I don’t know. Lukewarm?”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to dip my beak in and see.”

“Sheesh! I almost hopped in there. I thought you said it was lukewarm?”

“Look warm to me.”

August 25, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 55 Comments

Opportunists

Cloudy skies are welcome here,

Makes the heat wave less severe.

Look at this, it could be lunch,

If that guy can catch a bunch.

“How’s the fishing been today?”

Guy just stares with nought to say.

Looks like nothing in his creel.

Does he know the pain I feel?

“What? You had one, let it go?

I was wanting lunch, you know!”

Right! That’s it. I’m outta here,

Try to find another near.

I’ll find Joe, he’s down the shore,

How I hope he’s catching more.

Fisherman goes back to work,

Hoping soon his line will jerk.

PS I forgot to say these photos were taken by a friend on his cell phone.

July 31, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 47 Comments

Flossie the Floozie

Have you ever been ignored by someone you care about? You wait, hopeful for conversation, and … nothing.

I told Floyd, “My name’s Flossie. How are you?” But he was so snooty. He just flew to a nearby tree and ignored me. Let me tell you, I was hurt.

I was seriously doubting myself. Having a confidence meltdown. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Why didn’t he like me? He was so unfriendly. Just stuck his nose in the air. He was fine as long as HE was talking, but as soon as I said something, he flew off.

Then I had a thought. I … er … I … hadn’t had a bath in a while.

I checked my pits. Hmmm…. Got myself tidied up and as I sat there waiting, I realized that when I introduced myself, he must have thought I said my name was Floozie, not Flossie.

Well, now we wait … and we’ll see. I should wait a few minutes before I call him back. Wait until my feathers aren’t so ruffled. But still, what a nerve of him to be so rude.

Flossie Flicker’s feelings hurt,

Floyd has treated her like dirt,

When he talks about his day,

He expects to have his say.

But when Flossie wants to yack,

All he does is turn his back.

Flossie is so insecure,

Not so confident, not sure.

Then she spruces up her look,

Waits for Floyd and sets the hook,

“My name’s Flossie! It’s not Floozie!

Goodness gracious! Floyd’s a doozie.”

July 28, 2022
by wordsfromanneli 30 Comments

The Plum Tree Nest

Two things are special about this nest.

One – I didn’t know it was there and it isn’t a robin’s nest. Something smaller, but I don’t know what.

Two – Because of finding this nest I now know that there are a few (VERY few) plums on this tree. The plum trees have been a bust this year. We have two Italian prune plum trees and two of these round yellow-green cherry plum trees (I don’t know what they’re called). See the plums? One is by the nest and the other is at the bottom left of the picture.

The nest might have been from some smallish bird like a chipping sparrow, but it was not a spotted towhee (they nest on the ground) or a bigger bird like a robin that would need a bigger nest (robins and towhees being the two most common birds around here).

But if it hadn’t been for the nest, I wouldn’t have noticed that there are a few plums on the tree – the only plums this year! No prune plums and only a handful of these green ones.

The baby birds are long gone, and I can only hope that they made it. I love having birds around.