Animals | wordsfromanneli

June 11, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 41 Comments

Oh, so Pretteeeee!

He’s back, but still a bit blurry. This American goldfinch is very shy and doesn’t like to be photographed. Again he took off just as I was focusing my camera and I had to settle for a faraway shot. When he sat on the edge of the hedge it was like trying to take a picture of a mosquito on a moose.

This time I got a better sense of his colouring. One day, maybe he’ll sit still when he’s closer in, like this morning when he sat on the garden fence until I got the camera. He is definitely camera shy.

But with colours like this flashing signals to every hawk around, I don’t think I’d sit still long either.

Cuz I’m pretteeeee, oh, so pretteeeee,

I can’t stick around, for I’m bound to be found,

Cuz I’m pretteeeee, oh, so pretteeeee,

It’s awfully hard to be meeeee.

Yes, they’ll see meeeee, oh, they’ll see meeeee,

I really must fly, if I stay I will die,

Yes, they’ll see meeeee, oh, they’ll see meeeee,

And dying so young is not pretteeeee.

You snap pictures, I’ll read scriptures,

I pray that today will not be my last day,

Cuz I’m pretteeeee, oh, so pretteeeee,

I want to keep on being meeeee.

June 9, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 42 Comments

Penny for Your Thoughts

My friend who has the house where the peacocks visit, sent me some more photos that he snapped with his phone, so I thought I’d share them with you.

Here we are, folks. Remember me? I’m Patrick on the left, and I’ve brought five of my friends. Next to me from left to right, we have Percival, Parker, Penny, Paxton, and Preston. I think Preston got into the overripe, fermenting mountain ash berries. You can see that his head is a bit blurry.

Notice that Penny has a paler face than the rest of us and her neck feathers are more green than blue. She has a light brown back and even lighter underside.

Being the older male, I’m sort of in charge of the show. My fan of tailfeathers is way better than that of any others here. When I go up to Penny and show her my fan, with all the beautiful “eyes” on the feathers, I can tell she’s impressed. I shiver the fan just like I’ve seen ladies do with their handheld fans on a hot day at the opera. She nearly swoons when I do that.

All the boys want pretty Penny,

But she just wants me.

My impressive fan has many

Eyes for her to see.

When I spread my fanning glory,

And I show my train,

All those eyes will tell the story

That I’m not so plain.

I must have two hundred eyes,

Marked upon my train,

When I shiver Penny sighs,

“I love you,” again.

June 6, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 39 Comments

Patrick Peacock

While visiting friends, we were surprised to see this peacock at their door. He lives in their neighbourhood and sometimes our friends put food out for him, so he comes to visit once in a while. I asked my friend to snap a quick picture with his phone, and here we have it.

Patrick Peacock feels at home,

For a meal, no need to roam,

Here he has a special dish,

“Keep it full.” That is his wish.

“Oh, but look, some people came,

Some old friends, they look the same

As they did some time ago,

One or two more wrinkles though.

I’ll sit still, so poised and cool,

Long as they obey the rule,

Just don’t scare me, or I’ll run,

Then you would have no more fun.”

May 25, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 45 Comments

Sharing the Yard

I’ve seen the squirrels’ hiding place,

Beneath this pile of logs,

They stash their nuts and cones in there,

While watching out for dogs.

It’s not that Emma eats their food,

She’s picky what she eats,

But squirrels are safer for the fence,

So they won’t be her treats.

I think I smell some hazelnuts,

Still buried under here,

If I could find a few of them,

I’d be a ‘coon of cheer.

But there’s that snooping dog again,

Alerting everyone,

Time for me to take a hike,

And come back later on.

You’ve heard of cowards turning tail,

They show their other end,

I’m not a chicken, but I just

Have no more time to spend.

May 16, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 43 Comments

Fawn Finding

“Come on, kids,” the mother lows,

“Sniff the herbs now, use your nose.”

“Right in here’s a lovely place,

Duck right in and hide your face.”

“Wait!” says Junior, “I can see,

Some delicious weeds for me.”

“Okay, now I’m lying down,

Are you sure I won’t be found?”

“Rosemary, oregano,

Fennel too, oh what a show.”

“Look at me, beneath the leaves,

How oregano deceives.”

“Did you think I disappeared?

Scared you, Mom, I know you feared.”

“Now you only see my tush,

Hiding ‘neath the beauty bush.”

Tiny sister on the ground,

If she’s still she won’t be found.

Where’d she go, that little tease?

Camo colours, if you please.

“Here I am,” she flicks an ear,

Sage and lavender are near.

“All right, come on out, you two,

Weeds between the grass to chew.

“We’re quite safe now, don’t you fear,

No more danger over here.”

Note* These pictures are from several years ago, but at this time of year, when the fawns are born.

May 10, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 24 Comments

Goldfinches on Two Sides of the Pond

After seeing my Mystery Bird post last week, a fellow blogger sent me photos of finches he had visiting at his location. It was interesting to compare the different colour patterns.

My goldfinch was the American version on the North American side of the pond. Here are the two blurry pictures I was able to manage to capture of these flighty birds.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, in the UK, my blogging friend Jeff Grant took these pictures of the European version of the goldfinch.

They are often hard to photograph. These birds don’t want to hang around long enough for zooming or focusing, but isn’t it amazing to find so many of them (at least 14) together in one place.

Thank you for these photos, Jeff.

I wanted to show the colour differences between the two variations – the European and the American goldfinches – but they are too far away to see the colours clearly. Concerned about copyright violations, I didn’t want to use an Internet photo, so I did a daring thing. I sketched a bird and coloured it in my own amateur way, trusting that my blogging friends would forgive my lack of artistic talent and concentrate on the colours that identify the European goldfinch.

Here is my effort at avoiding copyright violation with my own drawing.

European Goldfinch

I would love to see these goldfinches in such numbers where I live. That would be so amazing.

May 6, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 38 Comments

Mystery Bird

A short time ago I had a mystery beetle to identify, but this week, it’s a mystery bird. We don’t often get brightly coloured songbirds here, so when this yellow bird landed on the fencing of my garden, I rushed to get the camera. I barely had time to find the bird in my viewfinder when it took off. Hence the blurry photo.

Later it came back and, again, I rushed to get the camera. Again it was a blurry photo, and the bird immediately flew away.

I snapped wildly in the general direction of the bird’s flight and thought, at first, that I had missed it. But when I zoomed in on the photo, I found it in the top right-hand corner. It’s too tiny to see what it is, so I saved a zoomed photo of that part that I circled below.

It’s still blurry, but it was enough that I could see the colours of the back and the wing markings.

I’ve determined that it is an American goldfinch.

If it ever sits still for longer than a few seconds, I might someday get a clearer picture of it. Meanwhile, it sang to me:

I heard that your birdfeeder has some good seeds,

They’re oh so delicious for filling my needs.

You want to take pictures of me in your yard,

But sitting still long is quite risky and hard.

I’ve seen that big hawk that is hanging around,

I make it my mission that I won’t be found.

It’s why I’m so nervous and seem to be flighty,

But when I sit still long, the danger is mighty.

So snap away quickly before I must leave,

I know, if I’m dead, just how much you will grieve.

I’ll fly away happy and singing a song,

I’ll say hello quickly and then I am gone.

May 2, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 38 Comments

Three Blind Mice

“Have a look at the picture below me,” says Millie Mouse.

“Do you see the part that has been circled in black? Well that’s the end of the first raised bed in the garden, and on the corner of the ‘bed’ is a triangle of wood that holds the raised bed together but mainly it keeps the rain out of my nest.

“So along comes that woman with her long-handled claw tool and she starts cleaning house for me, pulling out all the nice weeds I had growing around my nest to keep it hidden. Finally, she took a swipe at the part under my roof and it was just too close for comfort. I was outta there!

“She was shocked to see how fast I ran. I dove under the rhubarb leaves and held my breath. I nearly died when she pulled out my nest. There lay my babies strewn on the ground like three little bird treats.

“They shivered and shook but I couldn’t help them. ‘SHE’ still held that awful long-handled claw.

“But then she dropped it and ran. I guess I was tougher than I thought, scaring her off like that.

“I should’ve known it was too good to be true. Here she came again, out of the house with a ginormous camera in her hand. She put my babies together and pushed buttons on her camera over and over and over – and all the while, my babies were shivering.

“Finally, she found some common sense – although, if it’s so common, why is it so hard to find? – and she put the babes closer together and curled the nest around them. She pushed the nest back under the corner roof and found some more dried leaf bits to put over the babies.

“I guess she’s not all bad. As soon as she was gone I scampered back home to check on the wee ones. They were so scared. And cold! No coats yet. And of course they couldn’t see where they were going because they didn’t have their eyes open yet. Talk about ‘Three Blind Mice’.

“My heart is still pounding like a snare drum, but as soon as SHE is gone, we can all have a nap and pretend it never happened. I’m so glad the kids didn’t see a thing.”

April 30, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 28 Comments

Internet Dating

Once again, inspired by David Kanigan’s blog about Wally’s Great Adventures, I wanted to share Emma’s reaction. Please click on the link to see Wally’s pitch for a girlfriend. He’s so cute. I think he’s trying to show how tough he can be, and I must say Emma was impressed.

Emma must have thought I was looking for an Internet friend for her. When she heard Wally’s barking and saw him cavorting on the bed she naturally thought it was pillow talk.

She told me it was the best dating app she’d ever seen, and asked if I had Wally’s number.

She wouldn’t let up until I told her that Wally wasn’t interested in dating an “older woman.” He was just a baby and she was wasting her time pining for him.

It was hard on her, and I had to give her an extra treat to make her feel better.

April 24, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 27 Comments

Golden-Crowned Sparrow

The sun came out today. It was a big deal. The golden-crowned sparrows decided that it was time for their spring bath.

“So who’s in first?”

“Oh no! Don’t start with that ‘Who’s on first?’ thing again!”

“I’ll go in,” says Gordie, “and I’ll test the depth and make sure it’s safe for you, Goldie. Ahh … yes, it feels so good. Just look at those droplets flying. Lovely! Come on in, Goldie.”

“I’m in, Gordie, but I’m not so sure I like where the droplets are flying. Have you no consideration for others? Stop splashing me. You’re getting me all wet.” Goldie sighs. “Ohhhhh, I’m getting out!”