Animals | wordsfromanneli

August 29, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 44 Comments

Whoever Said Life Was Fair?

Look closely and what do you see hanging out of Emma’s mouth?

She had just been over to a stack of landscaping ties that she had been visiting constantly over the last few weeks, and I saw her lunge at something.

She got what she lunged for, but then stood there not knowing if she should swallow or spit.

Whoever said that life was fair?

Didn’t I catch that mouse?

Good clean catch was fair and square.

Snatched her by her house.

Meanwhile Maisie Mouse was cast into darkness. I couldn’t see what she was doing in there, but I feared the worst.

Oh my goodness! It’s so dark,

Wet and warm with slime,

That black dog is like a shark,

Got me good this time.

But Emma is so obedient. She knows that when I say, “Thank you,” she should give up what’s in her mouth.

After many, pleading “thank yous” Maisie was dropped onto the grass. I had to then protect her from another onslaught of Emma-attacks. Maisie ran up onto my shoes and then onto the cuff of my sweat pants. Luckily they are elasticized and she had no access to my bare leg (or anywhere else). I took a tissue from my jacket pocket and picked her up – not an easy task with her skittering here and there. But as soon as I got hold of her, the ungrateful girl sank her chompers into my finger.

Did I let go? You’d better believe it. I had to quickly distract Emma while Maisie made her way through the grass to the edge of the trees and disappeared.

Tiny little needle knives

Sank into my skin,

Thanks I got for saving lives,

What a fool I’ve been.

I’m glad Maisie survived, but I’m still waiting for a Thank You note from her. It could be a while. Oh – wait! Here’s Maisie.

August 26, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 34 Comments

Pileated Woodpecker Visits Again

Folks, I want you to know that this year it has been great to visit Anneli’s garden. It’s quiet (she’s hardly ever out here), and it’s so-o-o-o … shall we say, to be polite … it’s “au naturel.”

She thinks it’s a mess, but to me, it looks better than ever. Bugs are hiding everywhere, under weeds she hasn’t cleared away. A smorgasbord for me!

As a matter of fact, I think I might have one of those little critters on me. “Well, surprise, surprise, little bugs. There’s no free ride on me! You will be on my dinner menu. Heh, heh, heh, haaa-hooo!”

Messy garden,

Perfect place,

I have dinner,

Leave no trace.

Bugs that crawl

Look fine to me,

On the ground

Or in the tree.

When the garden’s

Gone to h—,

I see bugs

That suit me well.

August 10, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 46 Comments

Thirsty Squirrel

Lincoln’s grandson, Crispin, was as small as a Coffee Crisp bar when I first saw him. He has moved into the woodshed and gets fed most mornings. Unsalted sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, and walnuts are some of his favourite foods.

But in these weeks of drought we’ve had, the most important thing is to have water handy.

I thank you for the sunflower seeds,

Its flavour none can match,

But now my throat is parched and needs

Some liquid down the hatch.

I think there’s water in that tub,

Enough for several sips,

No need to dive in like a sub,

Just need to to wet my lips.

I’ll take one long last look around,

To watch for owl and hawk,

To be scooped up if I were found,

Would be an awful shock.

So quickly now, I steal a slurp ,

Then check again for trouble,

Another slurp and then a burp,

And head out on the double.

But first I have to greet my gal,

Who brings me all this stuff,

I’m lucky she is such a pal,

I can’t thank her enough.

July 30, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 36 Comments

Temptation

When apples ripen in the yard

And fall down from the tree,

If no one’s looking very hard,

I’ll steal one just for me.

But now they’re picked and in the house,

I wonder if I dare,

If I am quiet as a mouse,

You think they’ll let me share?

I’ve tasted these and even though

They’re ripe as they will get,

The taste is sour, I should know,

My cheeks are puckered yet.

I know it sounds like sour grapes,

Because they’re out of reach,

But see my tongue hang, face that gapes,

I’m very hard to teach.

July 20, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 44 Comments

In Broad Daylight

It’s nowhere near dark, but Ralph Raccoon felt safe enough to come check out our yard.

Just then, the Captain brought Emma (our English cocker spaniel) outside for a pee and in no time the barking and growling started. Luckily, Emma was on the leash because she has a pulled muscle in her leg and we don’t want her tearing around the yard just now.

With one last growl, Ralph clambered up the tree for safety.

Once Emma was out of the scene, Ralph wondered what to do.

“Should I stay here where I’m safe,” he wondered, “or should I come down while I can and get out of here before some crows find me and try to peck my eyes out?”

Turn on your sound and watch what Ralph decided to do.

July 15, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 55 Comments

Mother and Daughter

Again, I was in a rush and didn’t get wonderful, clear photos, but you’re all so good at using your imagination and that’s what I’m counting on today.

The woodpeckers were back. It was Pam and what I thought last week was her sister. I’ve had my eyes opened because I got a better look at the “sister.” Turns out, it is most probably her baby, not her sister.

Pam is near the bottom of the tree here, and Junior is above her. Junior’s topknot is not a brilliant red yet, most likely for her own protection. She won’t be such a target for her enemies.

Pam is working hard, pecking open the bark to look for bugs. Junior is still afraid of giving herself a headache so she lets Mom do all the work.

Pam stops mid-peck and looks around.

“Do you see her, Junior?” she asks.

“See who?” Jr. says.

“Whom.”

“What?”

“See whom, not who? … Oh, never mind. Do you see the crazy lady with the camera? She’s always hanging around near the back door, and I thought I heard it open. I don’t mind her, but that black cocker spaniel is always wherever she is, and that dog LOVES birds – and before you say, ‘Oh that’s good,’ let me tell you, ‘No. That mutt likes birds, but not in a good way.'”

“But don’t worry, Junior, we’re safe. Just open your beak. I’ve got a treat for you to make you forget all about that killer dog.”

“LOL! Gimme a break,” says Emma. “Me? Kill a bird? … Well, not a woodpecker, anyway … not today….”

July 7, 2023
by wordsfromanneli 46 Comments

Pam the Pileated Woodpecker

The pecking of beaks on wood just past the fence of my yard sent me running for my camera. I was surprised to see not one, but two pileated woodpeckers. They were a bit shy and one of them disappeared around the back of the tree. I had a glimpse of that bird just long enough to guess that it was a sister of the juvenile pileated woodpecker I could see on the opposite side of the tree. Do you see them there on the tree that is farthest to the left? One on each side of the tree; one about a foot below the other, partly hidden by a leaf.

I know her name is Pam, not Paul, because she doesn’t have the red cheek slash that the boys have. Notice how long her toenails are. Great for hanging on and for hopping up and down on the trunk of these Douglas fir trees. Can you do that?

She was finding little bugs in the bark. I watched her eat some as she came across them. I bet they were surprised to be found, thinking they were safe in the maze of coarse bark.

You can watch Pam at work in these two short videos she allowed me to take. It gave me a headache watching her slam her beak into the bark over and over again. If you watch carefully you might see her nibble at a bug she discovered between beak slammings.

In the next one, watch how she hopped around the bark so easily, hanging on with her sharp toenails.

See you around the neighbourhood, Pam, and thanks for helping keep down the invasion of insects.

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.