Yard, Gardens, Birds and Critters

The Northern Mockingbird By Mary J Williams © I have heard you Singing your song But when I go on the deck You are always gone Where are you Way up in the trees I can’t find you at all It is never easy Saw a bird perching When I went on the deck On the fence post I couldn’t ID it, by heck Went inside the house Grabbed my camera from inside Hoping the bird was still there And didn’t fly off and hide It was still on the fence post Zoomed in to see An Eastern Bluebird He turned and looked at me I got a couple of pictures And then he flew away I heard the song of the Mockingbird Coming my way Looked over to the left And there he was On the neighbor’s birdhouse pole Singing, that’s what he does After a couple of pictures He flew away I figure I would see him On another day I was thrilled to see him I love to hear him sing They have so many songs Songs to the heart he brings 10-14-2024 They are around the house a lot The Northern Mockingbird 

Critters Around my House By Mary J Williams © Out of the corner of my eye I see movement there What could it be It’s something with hair I looked over There is the ground hog He is dark and not moving Looks like a log I’m putting water In my birdbath you see Now the ground hog’s standing up Just looking at me He or she has seen me before There was a small one too Now it’s just the one They look alike so I have no clue What else do I see Chipmunks are around One I see daily By a bag of soil on the ground I got up one morning Day Lilies I planted Were chewed to the ground "It’s the deer!", I chanted Now there are rabbits too And squirrels out there You kind of learn what they eat And not plant them, if you care Sometimes the message is “Deer won’t eat this” They will eat what they want Some plants they dismiss So, yes, I have critters And sometimes I fuss How they aggravate me And sometimes I cuss But those that know me I am a softy at heart Probably won’t do anything Which, I

The Cat And The Chipmunk By Mary J Williams © My neighbor has a cat That roams the neighborhood Sometimes he comes to see me I’d probably keep him if I could A yellow cat is he This cat that roams around Most of the time I see him He is laying on the ground Yesterday was no exception He was in the other neighbor’s yard Just lying there, I thought But looked like he was on guard Next thing I know He is up and does a pounce Something he was after Did a little bounce This happened over and over I finally went inside the house Grabbed my camera with the zoom Thinking to see a mouse The cat was teasing a chipmunk A tiny little thing I know I cuss those critters But right now, sadness it did bring I went over to where they were I chased the cat away Little chipmunk crawled on my foot Thanking me in his way Then the little thing Took off as fast as he could He knew he was safe for now Ran from where I stood A great large stand of myrtle Vines lying all around Little chipmunk ran right in Hope

Time Flies By Mary J Williams (c) I was looking forward to planting Around the first of May Putting in the flowers Now, it's an August day Where on earth did the time go It seems like it just flew by It passed by so fast I feel like I could cry I like the warmer weather I can always cool off inside This old body doesn't move so good And that I can't abide I want to garden And pull out the weeds If I do all that Then I don't do other deeds I noticed my dog, Lacy Is slowing down too Sleeps most of the day no playing does she do I was out there today Pulling up some weeds Using a sprinkler up in front Water is what those plants need Still getting tomatoes The one plant is the best Early Girl is the name Better Boy's are the rest The time is going to fast Pretty soon freezing temps begin Then I will have to stay inside It will be "I can't wait 'til Spring starts again"                                        8-18-2024

I Didn’t Wear My Gloves By Mary J Williams © No gloves on my hands Digging up weeds Where are they you ask Put them on, you should plead Will I ignore you Probably so I’m digging and weeding And I’m on a roll Don’t want to stop If I do, I might quit Pulled so many weeds My hands are full of grit What’s that there On my left index finger Oops looks like a skin tear I’m not going to whimper Just a little tear No blood do I see I continue on Before it’s over there may be three Have rinsed off my hands With the spray on the hose Cleaning out the fingernails Until no more dirt shows Those gloves were laying Not twelve feet away Sorry, too far to walk Is all I can say Not really, not far But hands already a mess Putting on gloves now Wouldn’t make any sense                                                                                                                                              8-3-2024

I Don’t Listen By Mary J Williams © I told myself Before going outside Just do the watering Nothing else on the side Did I listen to me I don’t think I did I grabbed the clippers I thought I had hid Over to a bush Growing out of another plant This will not do That is my rant! Take the clippers to it Cut that bush down Did the ID first Before cutting to the ground A Possumhaw Holly Was the name of the bush No clue where it came from Cutting was hard, then gave a big push Well, that is cut down Try to dig out another time As long as I don’t hurt The crepe myrtle that’s mine Then trimmed out Two Coreopsis growing there Even pulled weeds More and more I swear Trimmed up the Bee Balm No seed tops to save All eaten up Nothing for another day I then begin to water I am all worn out I didn’t listen to myself Now I’m sore and going to pout                                             July 31, 2024