With crossing bills, I crack a seed,
The sunflowers are best,
It’s easy for me, there’s no need
To put it to the test.
But did you see, my lady fair,
How I hang upside down?
Why don’t you smile then, if you dare?
It isn’t nice to frown.
Category Archives: Animals
A Rabbit at Easter
I wonder where I put those eggs?
I hid them much too well,
If only I had longer legs,
But then, what if I fell?
I thought I hid them over here,
Beneath that prickly vine,
But then I changed my mind for fear,
Of hurting friends of mine.
Oh there they are, already found,
And laid into a dish,
All types of eggs there do abound,
As fine as you could wish.
Some homemade eggs, some done by pros,
An alabaster prize,
And not to be outdone by those,
The quail egg’s tiny size.
I might just have to start again
And get some fresh farm eggs,
And even though I wish in vain,
I’d love to have long legs.
I simply can’t improve on these,
The hens’ eggs are so sweet,
Not done with paint, or laid with ease,
This lovely Easter treat.
Oysters, Clams, and Phony Money
An oyster bed near the shoreline is encouraging to see. If you like oysters, be sure you’ve checked your local website for updates on any shellfish contamination that may be happening in your area.
We saw tons of oysters, but our fishing licences only allowed 12 each. That is certainly enough for a meal.
Poor Emma. She ran over these oyster shells and was soon limping along with sore feet from the rough barnacles on the shells.
After that, she preferred to run over pure sand or maybe a clam bed, both of which were easier on her feet.
I found a bit of beach money to pay for the clams and oysters. See the sand dollars below? The whiter ones were dead and sun bleached; the yellower ones were probably not feeling well; and the darker purplish brown ones (not pictured) were quite alive. I didn’t get a picture of them because I didn’t find them until later when I figured out that they were a few inches below the surface of the sand.
Emma was interested in a lot of things on the beach. This oyster was by itself, away from the rest and was covered with big barnacles. It seemed out of place here among all the clam shells.
The beach had so much driftwood washed up that it was an endless job for Emma to explore for mice and other little creatures that left their telltale scents on or under the logs.
She finally decided to tackle that big job, one log at a time.
It kept her busy all day.
So much fresh air and a tiny bit of sunshine ensured that we all slept well that night.
Chicken Little’s Sky
When Chicken Little saw this sky, she knew there was trouble ahead, so she squawked her famous lines and said, as you know:
Bok-bok-bok!
The SKY is falling,
And WE must tell the KING!
BoddOCK bok!
Well, who would’ve thunk that a chicken could forecast this dramatic weather phenomenon?!
The very next day, the sky actually DID fall. That big dark cloud fell onto the ground and covered the whole valley.
And then, as Carl Sandburg said:
The fog comes in
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
They say that “No man is an island,” but these fir trees aren’t too sure about that.
Vandalism
It’s time for spring cleaning and I took a broom to sweep the deck. But whoa! What was this? Did I have a raccoon or a rat visiting at night? What a mess!
I found a clue. A fir cone left behind. But maybe it had just been blown there by the wind. We have had some very windy days….
But in the corner at the front of the deck, I found more clues. Again, it could have been blown there by the wind….
But a closer look told me that the vandal had taken time out to have a snack and even had plans to eat a second cone before something scared him away.
Busted!
“Hmm … what to do now?”
“I might just have to rethink this….”
“It’s a good thing she loves me so much!”
Northern Flicker
The northern red-shafted flicker is fairly common on Vancouver Island and I’m glad he is. He eats a lot of ants and beetles and even wasps. That suits me just fine.
Here is Mr. Flicker (notice his red cheek slash) trying to get the attention of Ms. Flicker to ask her for a date.
Turn on your sound to hear him drumming on my chimney and then calling to her. His grammar isn’t great but I don’t think it bothers him (or her).
With a rat-a-tat-tat,
I say, where are you at?
Ms. Flicker (no red cheek slash) misses his call but comes by to announce that she’s a bit late, but she’s here.
I’m sitting right here,
Come and find me, my dear.
Lunchtime
Hoo-whee! These fir cones are like a candy cane. So good!
Oh! Sorry. That was rude of me. Would you like to share this one?
These cones come in little wings that you can peel off. I’ll get one for you.
What’s that? Not your kind of food? Oh, too bad. I’ll get back to it then.
Say, if you really want to see me in action, play the video. Be sure to turn up the sound so you can hear the robins singing their spring songs.
A Special Breed of Horses
My friend who lives in the Czech Republic took a visiting friend to see the Kladruber horses that are still bred at the town of Kladruby nad Labem. They sent me some photos taken with a cell phone. Most of the finest horses were still indoors, but they were able to get some photos of those who were outside.
The Kladruber breed was founded in 1579 by Rudolf ll, a member of the House of Habsburg, and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It was developed for the purpose of pulling the imperial coaches for ceremonies and funerals. It was a fine breeding of the best horses, yet strong and capable of pulling heavy carriages.
The Kladrubers also have some of the Lippizaner and Orlov Trotter bloodline.
They have been designated as the household breed at the Royal Court of Denmark. They serve on ceremonial occasions at the Royal Court of Sweden, and are used by the Swedish mounted police.
When they are hitched to a royal carriage in groups of four or six, their powerful, arched necks, give them a pompous, ceremonial look. For more than 400 years, these horses have been bred for their high-stepping trot that makes them look so fine in royal pageantry.
A Taste of the Good Life
Our old trailer has seen better days, but I can’t think of many that were better than this one.
The lake was peaceful, fresh, and beautiful.
An eagle patiently waited for a trout to be caught. Maybe there would be a little “something” left for him.
But first lick went to Emma. This trout fishing was new to her and she seemed to like it.
The next trout had Ruby interested. It was her turn.
Water lilies at the edges added tranquility to the scene.
Time to go ashore and stretch our legs.
Ruby and Emma found all kinds of wonderful smells there.
But right nearby, where even I could smell the animals that had been there, was the evidence of elk that had visited not long before.
A lot of peaceful moments, but never a dull one.
The Frog Prints
I followed the frog prints and found a real frog prince. Now, before we begin, Froggie wants everyone to know … he REALLY is a prince. He just needs a kiss.
(Unfortunately, anyone who has picked him up lately has told him, “KISS you? … I’d rather have a talking frog.”)
Gelatine fingers
Hold on when he lingers,
Racing stripe – fashion
To show he has passion.
In one eager bound
He will leap to the ground,
Hop to obscurity
Quick for security.
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