wordsfromanneli

Thoughts, ideas, photos, and stories.

Category Archives: Animals


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Crispin ‘s Weather Forecast

 

Waking up, he checks the yard,

Feels like snow that freezes,

Not quite yet, but blowing hard,

Come the northern breezes.

 

News is written on the wood,

Writing looks Chinese,

Anyway it’s not so good,

Says it’s going to freeze.

 

No, oh no, oh no-no-no-o-o-o-o!

This is not good news,

Says right here that it will snow,

Time to start my chews.

Here’s some rope to line my bed.

Captain won’t be pleased.

Likes his ropes kept in good stead,

He’ll be really cheesed.

 

But the Cap’s retired now,

He won’t miss this rope,

If he used it anyhow,

He’d be quite a dope.

 

Watch me shred this fuzzy line,

Stuff it in my cheeks,

It will make that bed of mine,

Warm and soft for weeks.

 

Ropey fibre dries my throat,

Swallowing is pain,

But let’s see what’s in this tote,

Tub has filled with rain.

Watch this clip and see my feet,

See my special toes?

Talent like this can’t be beat,

Every squirrel knows.

 

 

Ahhhh! That’s better. Now to go

Off to make my nest,

Deep inside a woodshed row

Safe and warm, it’s best.

 

 


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First of December, First Snow

Evening darkens, snow clouds loom,

Heavy grayness hovers,

Every creature, filled with gloom,

Looks for extra covers.

 

Snowflakes drifting in the breeze,

Flutter to the ground,

Blanketing the dens with ease,

Whiteness all around.

 

Morning sunlight filters through,

Birds emerge from shrubs,

Now they wonder what to do,

Where are all the grubs?

 

“Where’s my breakfast?” they all cry,

“How will I stay warm?”

Shivering with cold, they sigh,

This is not the norm.

 

 

Robins tweet their invitations,

Gathering for flight,

Needing lower elevations,

Snow-free woods in sight.

 

 

Holly berries, mountain ash,

Worms and bugs to eat,

Having fled the winter’s lash,

Birds escape defeat.

 

Though it’s pretty, snow reminds,

How cold it will be,

Warm vacation, I must find,

Lovely sun and sea.

 

Meanwhile Emma snuggles in,

Fuzzy blanket warm,

Softly curled up to her chin,

“Now bring on the storm.”

 

 


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Owly Nights

Stay hidden now, my furry friend,

Be still as you can be,

Though warning sounds that night air rend,

Send chills through you and me.

The great horned owl gets hungry too,

He craves a juicy meal,

Let’s make him think you’re tough to chew,

Your flavour’s no big deal.

Instead he sits up on that branch,

And tries to scare some rat,

Whose face with terror then will blanch,

And that, they say, is that.

You can hear the great horned owl shrieking, trying to scare the rat (or anything that moves). He’s hard to see in the dark, but watch to the end and you’ll hear him screeching back and forth to his girlfriend, telling her to come over and have supper with him.

Turn on your sound. If you click to make the video clip full screen, it will look better.

 

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A Jay-ded Viewpoint

Water cooler gossip flows,

Fast as water from the hose,

Each one spouting what he knows,

As their petty nature shows.

Who does Princess think she is,

Wanting me to call her ms?

Prissy Missy minus fizz,

‘Cept her hairdo, which is frizz.

I see better from up here,

I can take my time and leer,

At her vanity severe,

Does she think we all will cheer?

 

La-dee-dah, the world is mine,

I’m a princess, looking fine,

Hollyhocks all in a line,

Happy shivers down my spine.

 

Of course you know this kind of talk is all for the birds.


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Black Walnut

In a couple of weeks, this black walnut tree will get a good pruning, as it is getting quite leggy. But first I wanted to harvest this year’s walnuts. The tree was loaded this year. Unfortunately, these “black” walnuts are not the same as the ones we find in the stores near Christmastime.  Those would be from the English walnut tree – different leaves and different nuts.

The black walnuts are very thick shelled and hard to crack, and even then, quite bitter to eat. But the squirrels like them.

In order to save the squirrels from breaking their teeth, I collect the walnuts, take the husks off them, and crack them a few at a time to put in their food dishes in the woodshed.

This is what they look like on the tree, encased in a thick green covering.

 

Below is a picture of the English walnut tree which has the kind of walnuts we are used to eating. Notice that the leaves are quite different from those of the black walnut tree.

But this day I was dealing with black walnuts. I wore gardening gloves to handle the nuts as I hit them lightly with a short-handled axe to split the husk and stockpile the walnuts in a separate box. Then, I took the axe and whacked each nut harder – much harder – to crack them open so the squirrels could get at the inside and I put some of the cracked nuts in a couple of shallow jars for the squirrels to find in the woodshed. A nutcracker would not open these nutshells. They are so thick and tough!

The squirrels really like them and these nuts are free food for them, so everyone is happy.

The birds have found out about them and wait for the supply to be freshened up daily too.

But what a surprise I had when I went into the house to get cleaned up. I mentioned that I wore gardening gloves. Still the stain from the walnut husks went right through the gloves and now I have hands that look like those of a heavy smoker. And it doesn’t wash off!

 

So if you want to dye some furniture, just grow some black walnuts and you can do your own furniture restoration.


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A Waterfowl Meeting

Mallards, widgeons, fill the sky

Each one calling out their cry,

“Wait for me,” and “Watch my space,”

Desperate to keep up the pace.

 

In the lee by stands of trees,

Sheltered swans it seems to please,

In a line of purest white,

Feeling safe, to their delight.

For the ducks, a numbers game,

Many of them look the same,

Feeling safe amid the crowd, 

They don’t mind if they are loud.

 

In this field of scraps they find

Food enough to feed their kind,

So much harvest overlooked,

Ducks don’t mind if it’s not cooked.

 

 

 

Look quite closely, you will see

Old potatoes – one, two, three,

If these spuds are not fermented,

Hungry ducks won’t get demented.

 


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It’s a Cruel World Out There

The geese are moving in from places farther north where they have enjoyed warmer weather until now. They sense that the season is cooling off and have come to visit the fields of southern BC to fatten up on leftover grain, bits of corn, and anything else that looks good. Once they have met up with their friends in ever greater numbers, and they have rested and feasted and done little test flights during this staging time, many of them will fly farther south where the winter is not as harsh.  A few smaller flocks will settle in to spend the winter here on Vancouver Island, in the hope that the coldest weather will be bearable and not last too long.

The eagle watches and waits. He will take advantage of any stragglers or injured birds to supplement his diet. Once the spawned out fish carcasses are cleaned up by scavengers like seagulls, crows, and eagles, it will be time for a new food source. For the eagles it will often be crippled waterfowl of many kinds.

This bald eagle has a good view of a cornfield that often attracts ducks and geese. If any of them are not able to keep up with the flock, they will make an easy target for a predatory bird.

Little songbirds like these chipping sparrows will be targeted by hawks who sit silently in the nearby trees, waiting for an opportunity to swoop down and scoop up a little snack.

This broad-winged hawk would be happy with a songbird or even a careless squirrel. Patience and alertness are what it’s all about.

The merlin doesn’t mind picking up a songbird either. He’ll happily take down a flicker that might be almost the same size as him.

The red-shafted northern flicker had better be alert. It’s a dangerous world out there.

The general rule for non-predatory birds, especially in the autumn, is “heads up or be eaten.” It’s the raptors who are the meat eaters, while the gentler plant- and insect-eaters need to fear them.

And I haven’t even mentioned the owls yet. Rabbits and mice beware!

 


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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.

 


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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?