wordsfromanneli

Thoughts, ideas, photos, and stories.

Category Archives: Animals


by 46 Comments

Harvest Time

The squirrels have been harvesting hazelnuts from the trees and hiding them to be retrieved in the winter.

Along comes Woodrow the Woodpecker, innocently looking for bugs.

Ronald Rabbit knows the squirrels wouldn’t like their stash to be unearthed, but, “What to do? What to do?”

“Mind your own business, Ronald,” says Woodrow. “That’s “What to do’!”

“I’m telling,” shouts Ronald. “The people will let their dog out and then you’ll be sorry.” Meanwhile, I have one leg raised and ready to make a run for it.

“Look out, you guys! Here I come. And don’t forget! I may be a teddy bear in the house, but I’m a wolverine in the field.”

“Are you serious?” Woodrow calls to Ronald. “Now that the dog is out, we’ll all have to make a run for it.”

“Aw, do what you want. I’m going up here to higher ground and — oh! What have we here? A hole in the tree. Anybody home?”

And so life goes on … unless you’re a bug in that tree.

 

 

 

 

 


by 37 Comments

King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas

These king parrots seem to tolerate the two crimson rosellas at the left of the photo (sent by Leslie from Australia). I’m not sure what would happen if there were a shortage of seeds on those brick pavers, but as long as there is enough for everyone, there doesn’t seem to be a problem sharing.

Bright and beauteous, that we are,

Folks admire us from afar.

If they put down seeds for us,

And come closer, we won’t fuss.


by 49 Comments

You and Me and Rain on the Roof

A young eagle on one of his first outings.

Hmm! Great view from up here.

Kind of windy though.

Yikes! That gust nearly unseated me.

I wonder if I should find a better place. A bit exposed here….

Help! Eeeeek! Eeeeek! Mom!

My feathers are getting all ruffled up.

Starting to rain too.

Here comes the rain. Tiny drops are gathering on my feathers. And then there’s that wind. I think I should find another place to hang out. Lots of trees out there with branches for a better grip.


by 23 Comments

Mountain Ash and Holly

As I wrote the title to this post, I thought it might be misleading, with all the local wildfires making ashes of some of our “mountains,” but it is the tree that I am referring to in this post.

Each spring, the mountain ash gets clusters of little white flowers. Later in the summer, those flowers turn into red berries that will supply food for birds that are still here in the late autumn. It’s a time of year when the birds are trying to get the last of the summer’s bounty to build up their strength to meet the coming winter, or to make any lengthy flights they might have planned.

On one of those cool autumn days, the flocks (usually robins) will come and occupy the tree like so many shivering ornaments on a Christmas tree. They gobble down as many of these berries as they can. Sometimes it is already late in the fall and the berries are getting a bit overripe. The birds have been known to get a bit tipsy from eating the wine-like berries.  Beware the windows nearby, little birds, when you can’t fly straight.

 

They also visit the holly trees for their berries, but they eat more carefully. Holly leaves can be prickly.

 

Mountain ash and holly,

They make a late snack jolly,

But berries that ferment,

Can cause flights to be bent.

 

 


by 34 Comments

A Cool Snake

This carpet python is not the same one as in the previous post, but the story happened nearby. My friend noticed the snake lying near the road and wondered if it had been run over. If not, it soon could be. She dropped a stick on it to see if it would move, and as you can see, it did not. In order to move it away from the roadside, she considered picking it up, but, as these snakes can be heavy and she is not a weightlifter, she called on a friend to come and help. (I chuckle when I imagine that these are her excuses for not feeling comfortable handling a snake. I wouldn’t be either.)

As you may know, snakes don’t hibernate in the sense that mammals do, but they will den up and cuddle for warmth. As the weather cools, the snakes tend to slow down if they can’t find a sunny spot to stay warm.

This particular fellow was stranded in a cool place and his already cool blood was not able to keep him active. He was pretty much stuck. You might say he was close to having “viperthermia.”

In the photo below, notice how the snake is just dangling there, not very active. He needed to be warmed up, and what better way to get his blood flowing again than with a nice cuddle. This is what the friend is doing, trying to warm up the cool guy. He walked with the snake to a sunny patch. With about ten minutes of cuddling and two minutes of sunshine, the snake was feeling better and became more lively.

He was squirming all over the place, and although the friend was in no danger of being swallowed, he didn’t want to get nipped either. See him holding the snake’s head away, just in case.

 

I thank you, Sir, for warming me, 

So I can make my way,

To someplace safe where sun I see, 

But no one knows I stay.

 

For snake blood without sun is cool,

My body sluggish, slow,

I’ll lie beside the swimming pool,

But stay! No need to go!

 

I only want to stay mobile,

And so need to keep warm,

If I can hide in this woodpile,

I’ll be in finest form.


by 46 Comments

Carpet Python

This carpet python in Australia is very well camouflaged. His head is just to the right of the farthest fern on the left. From there, if you follow his curves along to the end of his long body, you will notice that he gets fatter  and fatter. I shudder to think what little animal has been swallowed whole.

Carpet Python, photo by Leslie

Carpet Python, photo by Leslie

Imagine walking down the steps to the back yard to put something into the compost and then, on your return, noticing that you must have walked right over a python of over six feet in length.

Luckily, these pythons are not venomous. They eat small animals like mice and rats, birds, and lizards. They can open their jaws wider than we might think, judging by the size of the head, but after an initial bite, they wrap their body around the animal to constrict its blood flow, and once the animal is unconscious, it is usually swallowed whole.

I spied my meal behind a fern,

And slithered close to see,

But Ratty didn’t even turn,

And soon was food for me.

 

I wrapped my “arm” around him then,

And told him not to fear,

“It’s just so you won’t feel it when

I swallow you, my dear.”

 

Though Ratty passed out right away,

And slipped right down my throat,

It would be wrong for me to say,

I didn’t smile and gloat.

 

He kicked a bit when he awoke,

He scrabbled in my gut,

And rather than to lose the bloke,

I kept my big mouth shut.


by 50 Comments

The Common Loon

On a small lake in northwestern Washington State, my friend Sonia was kayaking and had a close look at a pair of common loons. One of them is pictured here. I did some digging for information and found out that except for the difference in their size, it is not easy tell male from female at a glance. So whichever it is, he or she would like to chat you up with a poem. Beware! It may be a bit loony.

I swim on a whim

And I’m good with a dive,

I stay slim and trim,

And it keeps me alive.

 

Spearing fish as I wish,

Or a scared little crab,

I’ll swish a big dish,

Or a wee, tiny dab.

 

My feet you can’t beat,

‘Cause they paddle quite well,

So sweet and so neat,

And they never will smell. 

 

 

If lost in the frost,

Time to leave for the sea,

Or be tossed with such cost, 

When the cold comes to me.

 

 

At sea I feel free,

And I call to my mates,

My plea, “Come to me,”

Seems to open the gates.

 

 


by 39 Comments

Australian King Parrot

Just imagine what a thrill it would be to have one of these king parrots land on your back fence to ask for a snack. I would probably break a leg running for my camera. This photo was taken by my friend Leslie who lives in Australia. She assures me that she hasn’t broken a leg.

 

Maybe he’s getting ready for Christmas, wearing his best bright red and green finery.

He’s already looking for his presents in the form of a handout of seeds and any other fruit goodies that may come his way.

 

Eucalyptus, bolly gum.

These are foods that make me hum,

Berries make some tasty feeds,

Sometimes topped with hasty seeds.

 

Eating seeds of tuckeroo,

I’m a tough young buckaroo,

Nectar tasty as the seeds,

Yes, this tree fulfills my needs.

 

Berries of the lilly pilly, 

I could eat them ’til I’m silly,

Great bush tucker for a bird,

But there’s more, don’t be absurd.

 

Apples, pears, bananas, figs,

Mangos have me dancing jigs,

So much fruit is good for me,

I won’t starve here, don’t you see?

 

But if nature’s food is low, 

Always, there’s a place to go.

Folks don’t feed me out of duty,

They all love me for my beauty,

 

 

 

 

 


by 49 Comments

A Stupid-People Fire

Looking out from my house a couple of days ago, I saw what turned out to be a 4.5 hectare wildfire near Comox Lake, which is up in that forested area (the water in the lower part of the photo is salt water).

Luckily, the firefighters who respond to wildfires were quick to get up there, and after a while they got the fire at least to stop spreading. If not for them, it could have been very bad.

Man made, they think. These fires so often are. If it isn’t arson, then it’s carelessness and stupidity.

Campfires made where they should not be made at this time of year, and not put out properly.

A carelessly tossed cigarette.

Broken glass left lying around where the sun (scorching hot these days) can magnify and start a grass fire.

I don’t know what the cause was this time, but there’s a 99% chance it was preventable.

 

I worry about the poor little birds and animals who have to flee for their lives, if they can. So many of the tinier ones have no hope of going far enough away to escape the flames.