A young puppy knows nothing about porcupines and the pain they can inflict just by being there.
Emma bounced around this one in a field, probably wondering why it didn’t either fly away or come out to play.
This bird is named for its amazing tailfeathers which resemble a lyre, a U-shaped, harp-like instrument. Unfortunately, the video only shows glimpses of the tailfeathers – but the main feature of the clip is to show the mimicry the lyrebird is capable of. They have been heard mimicking other birds, as well as copying sounds like sirens, dogs barking, and even cameras clicking. What a variety!
The video was taken by my friends who visited Australia recently. Lyrebirds are rather shy so this was a lucky capture.
Please turn up the volume for the best results.
P.S. I just figured out why poets are encouraged to write cinquains. It’s to make sure they don’t ramble on too much.
Five lines with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables respectively.
The Missus says for my New Year’s resolution, I should have a bath.
All right! I’ll show her I’m a tough guy. Just because it’s freezing…. I’ll take it like a man.
Krrrrrrikey! What was I thinking?!
That’s enough of that. If she doesn’t like it, she can just smell me later.
While pruning one of our yew trees, I reached in towards the center, groping for the branch to cut, and felt a bird’s nest, obviously left there late last spring. Hesitantly, I checked for leftover unhatched eggs or dead chicks before I would throw the nest away.
The “eggs” I found in the nest were all cracked open, but they sure looked like hazelnut shells to me.
“Aha! Crispin the Squirrel has been here. I hope he only found the nest after the baby birds had flown.” I reasoned that the hazelnuts would not have been ripe until late fall, and the baby birds would have flown in the spring, so I didn’t think too badly of Crispin for making himself at home in this new dining room of his.
“Uh-ohhh … she found my stash.”
Another cinquain – five lines with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables in each line respectively.
Flicker is bigger than the little juncos and towhees. He takes advantage of his size to get his fill of suet.
It’s cold and rainy in the video clip. The towhee and junco try in vain to get a bite.
But all are vulnerable when the hawk moves in.
I’m trying my hand at writing cinquains (sin kanes). They have five lines with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables in each line respectively.
Be patient please. This is my first one ever.
I think this is either a Eurasian moorhen or a dusky moorhen, probably the latter. They belong to the rail family.
The photo was taken by friends on the east coast of Australia.
This gentle dog was visiting at the mall last week. I’ve whited out his owner’s face for the sake of his anonymity.
I had never seen an Irish wolfhound up close like this, much less touched one, but this fellow didn’t mind at all that I touched his nose when we said hello.
I was amazed at his size, easily standing as high as his owner’s waist, and weighing over 200 lbs.
Irish wolfhounds were bred to guard against wolves in Ireland several hundred years ago. Although they must have been aggressive and tough to kill wolves, they are generally quite calm and gentle. They are not bred to be guard dogs, lacking enough aggression for this job.
Still, if you would be the owner of an Irish wolfhound, it would be advisable to train your dog early, before he gets too big to say no to.
Another thing I’ve learned about them is that Irish wolfhounds are susceptible to a heart condition called cardiomyopathy, so they do not usually have a long lifespan. Six to ten years seems to be the average lifespan.
It was a real treat to be able to meet this very large dog. He was seven years old, and very mild mannered. As I went home from having met this dog, I kept thinking, “It must cost a small fortune to feed this dog, but I’m sure he would earn his keep by being such a loving companion.”
wordsfromanneli 