wordsfromanneli

August 24, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 48 Comments

Grade Three-Four Coup

This post is inspired by those beautiful photos on Lynette’s blog where she often showcases the lakes to the north and south of Penticton, B.C. (Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake). Please visit her blog by clicking on the link at the end of this post.

On one of Lynette’s posts I told her that the kids in my class threw me into Okanagan Lake and I promised I’d post the photo if I could find it.

Well, it’s not flattering. I look like a drowned rat, but you can see from the look on the kids’ faces that they loved every minute of it.

It was an end-of-the-school-year picnic on Okanagan Lake and I had the help of a few of the parents to supervise and make sure no one got into trouble at the lake. I should have hired someone to save me from getting into trouble myself.

I had such a lovely class and we had a great picnic and games by the beach. But then I heard someone whisper a call for rebellion.

“Let’s throw the teacher into the lake!”

I looked for the parent helpers who suddenly were nowhere to be seen. Next thing I knew, four of my little angels had hold of my limbs, an arm or a leg each, and swung me back and forth. I heard them shouting through my squeals, “One! Two! Three! HEAVE!”

And “Splash!” That’s all she wrote.

I still remember shy little Maureen, grinning like crazy. I think it was her mother who took my picture to immortalize the drowned rat who was her child’s teacher.

That was decades ago, but I remember that splash like it was yesterday.

It’s lucky for those little eight- and nine-year-olds that I loved them all so much.

Lynette’s posts:

Sunday Bench

August 22, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 21 Comments

Warming Rays

Sun that warms us,

Loved by most,

Soothes without fuss,

Feels like toast.

August 19, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 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.

August 17, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 37 Comments

Plumb Full of Plums

Juicy, tarty, sweet,

The plums weigh down the tree,

I bite into their meat,

Tastes heavenly to me.

Jams and cakes galore,

The winter’s treats await,

It’s what we have in store.

Who cares if we gain weight?

August 14, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 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.

August 13, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 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.

August 11, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 36 Comments

Red, Aren’t You?

These pears are one of my favourites. Firm and juicy and not so quick to bruise after you pick them.

They are red. Aren’t you?

Let me try that again. Put a little bit of French into the second part.

They are Red Anjou.

So delicious.

These pears are believed to have originated near the city of Angers, France, which was the seat of the Plantagenet dynasty. The pears showed up in the United States in 1842 and now represent 34 % of the U.S. pear market.

I’m not surprised they’re popular. They are so tasty.

August 8, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 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.

August 5, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 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

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.

August 3, 2025
by wordsfromanneli 40 Comments

Blackberry Time

My mouth is watering as I look at these blackberries. You can make desserts with them, but why go to so much trouble? Just pop them into your mouth. They are SO good!