Yard, Gardens, Birds and Critters

Winter-the Yard, Birds and Critters and Me by Mary J Williams It's sort of winter but the weather is mild You can be outside Which makes me smile Weeds were pulled and I planted a seed one was a tree If it grows, it will surprise me I have had fun watching the birds an argument between bluebirds and the Robins I've heard Chickadees flying in and the Titmouse too I grab the camera Then off they flew I have a flowerbox sits on the rail It's on the two by six so falling will fail It also can sit on a two by four but mine just has the space The birds walk through the tunnel and disappear without a trace One time, while filling the feeders One of the tunnels had a bird A sparrow was in there  He ran so fast, he was blurred I love watching them  they think the tunnels fun Maybe they get cool If there's a lot of sun. I have to wash the deck  to try and keep it clean with bird seed and poop Dog pee I mean When it's cold outside Or very early morn The dogs do their business...

Squash Blossom By Mary J Williams There are maybe three leaves On my squash plant out there It doesn’t look great I wonder how it will fare I have watered since planting No rain has been around Yesterday one tenth Fell on the ground This morning I looked out To see what’s not there Critters eating the plants They are almost bare So, I check in the mornings I have been so upset Chopped down plants The critters I threat But today I had to smile Because the squash had a surprise Three little leaves And a flower greeted my eyes I couldn’t believe it The plant is so small And yet there is a blossom Maybe some squash after all!

My Critters By Mary J Williams © Watching out my window In the early morning hours My eye catches movement The trees my eyes scour There they are, up in the tree Squirrels are playing Running from branch to branch Sometimes they are swaying The sun isn’t even up It’s just barely light They always are playing But not during the night I planted some seed In flower pots on the deck I have seen the squirrels in them Digging holes by heck Planters in the front They did the same thing Don’t know if I will get produce They destroy a lot in spring They aren’t the only ones The deer have also stopped by Day lilies were on the menu All I do is wonder why They ate my neighbors too Maybe they just ate the leaves And the buds will still come up And flowers bloom to please The critters are up to no good As far as I am concerned They live on this Earth too Patience, I have learned!

The Water Wiggler Disaster By Mary J Williams © I filled up the birdbath Six times so far today At 7 p.m. at the kitchen window No Water Wiggler, I say Walked out on the deck There is nothing there Looked over the edge It must of flew into the air One part was broken One battery was on the ground I don’t understand The twirler was still going round It must have been a critter That knocked it out A cat or a squirrel It got a clout, no doubt Must have hit it hard To knock it out of there Now a broken wiggler It’s getting way too much to bear! To Birds I View tomorrow Get another water wiggler there If a critter breaks another I’m gonna’ pull out all my hair    What the Water Wiggler is supposed to look like! Not like this       

My Cantaloupe By Mary J Williams © I had a couple of plants That were growing under the deck I was hoping to see what they were So didn’t pull them, many times I checked Lo and behold a melon one day Didn’t know what kind But left it to grow It was never out of my mind I took my phone That had an ID app For plants of all kinds So, I snapped it with that A muskmelon it said Cantaloupe was another name I knew I put seeds out But both plants weren’t the same Both melons kept growing One looked like those from Shirk’s Couldn’t wait till the stem Looked like time to jerk Ah well, the bugs beat me to it The melon had a great big hole Where it laid on the ground My cantaloupe they stole There was another kind I would have liked to try But a critter got to it Chewing a hole in its side I saw the melon And much to my surprise Saw a little white dog I thought I would cry That little dog was Lacy She likes cantaloupe I guess I should have picked it But, no, I was a dope I waited until it was ripe...

 It's been a while since I wrote anything. Not that nothing is going on. Just too much is going on!  I went outside and tripped! Moles and then there were Voles too! I wrote a poem. I did some research and decided what I tripped on is a mole tunnel. However, I do have vole holes and over by my porch is a couple of entrances of a chipmunk!  I know it's a chipmunk because I see that little critter running across the driveway, from the neighbors and over to my house. Also have see the chipmunk running from the neighbors on the other side of me, into one of his entrances over there. The groundhog was seen in the back yard a couple of days ago. Pretty one too! He was inside my dog area! That surprised me. It's fenced in. He was trying to get out in the back corner but couldn't do it. I watched and he started coming towards me.  I am on the deck, with the hose and decided to give him or her a little spray. Back to the corner he went but didn't stay there long. He was on a...

 While I was watering the other day, around the 10th of August, everywhere I looked it seemed something was going on. A hole in the ground, where I think a chipmunk resides. Then mounds of dirt in my front yard again. The mole was pretty busy. I glanced around and saw all the places Wild Ginger was growing. I don't plant them there, the ants do that. I just wish they wouldn't plant them in sunny areas. Oh, and the hostas now chewed down to nubbins. The deer come up the driveway, or go down it and stop for a treat! Every time I saw a new spot, a poem would form in my mind. When I got in the house and at my computer, the computer wasn't working. I grabbed a pen and paper and started writing. Kind of a condensed poem. One that included most everything. I never did finish it until this morning. Poems In My Head By Mary J Williams © The other day While working outside Started many poems Thoughts I didn’t try One about the piles Of dirt upon the ground Meant the mighty mole Reall...

 Sometimes you get busy and you know there is something you are supposed to do but you put it off. Last night was one of those nights! I bring in the sunflower seed and the nut mixture feeder and put the water wiggler on the deck floor stuck in a corner where, hopefully, the raccoons will leave it alone.  I really did "think" about moving all the feeders around 7:40 p.m., but then, my second thought was, the birds still are feeding, well some were, so I left them out.  I was doing a project of typing up all my mom's recipe stash into my cookbook on the computer.  Of course, the time flies by! After finally finishing that, I decided to play a game and check some of my friends pages and a multitude of other tasks I enjoy doing on the computer.  It got way late. It was almost 11 p.m. when it dawned on me that I didn't bring in my two feeders.  Would you believe I took my camera with me. No, I didn't do that. Went to the door, turned on the light and there she ...

I Forgot By Mary J Williams © Because the raccoon has been a roughneck I bring in the one feeder And hide the wiggler on the deck A busy day yesterday I worked and some play Forgot to do the feeder No hiding the wiggler today This morning let the dog out I opened up the door There lay the wiggler In pieces, on the deck floor Dropped from the birdbath Little more the three feet It was in five pieces That was quite a feat The lid was away from the rest The four together they lay I only saw one battery Did he eat the other? I say I looked all around Even went down below Never found the other battery Where is it? I will never know Grabbed a new battery Up the stairs I went Turned over the top Battery two was present I really did feel silly Not turning it over to see If the other battery was there Bet you all agree The battery is in The top is screwed on The leg is replaced The wiggler goes around Now if this critter Would leave it alone Or me not forget To hide it, I say with a moan! total...

Critter Strikes Again By Mary J Williams © I got up this morning Headed for the door Opened it up And said “Forever more” There laid the wiggler Over on its side Wiggle part missing I heaved a big sigh Walked to the bird bath The twirler part there Little rubber discs gone Thank goodness I have a spare I looked for the rest of the pieces They were nowhere to be found They might have fallen off the deck And are laying on the ground Nope, not going to look I’ll just get my spare in the house I am so aggravated That critter is a louse! I think it’s a raccoon I need to make him scram Gotta make sure Need to set up the trail cam Not only about the wiggler But birdfeeder too Moved the whole thing What to do, what to do? the bar that usually has the rubber discs  on a little plastic piece that holds them The big feeder with sunflower seeds lots of the seed gone and feeder way over the deck banister Where the feeders are supposed to be  

 I have a morning routine!  I get up and turn on the warmer burner on the stove and pour water in my Bunn Coffee Maker for Hubby's coffee. Then it's out on the deck to check the bird feeders and the water. This morning I looked out and noticed the grape jelly was gone, so I grabbed it from the refrigerator and a spoon, then out on the deck.  I filled the little dishes with some jelly. I noticed the sunflower seed level was pretty low and thought I had better bring some up to the feeder.  I don't fill it to the top anymore as it's the heaviest bird feeder ever. It is cool looking but the weight, with it completely full, bends the hook it's on and the squirrel already has added extra weight to it!  The Water Wiggler has been on the deck in my heated birdbath for many years.  The raccoon, evidently, doesn't like it at all. Not only has the wiggler been pushed out of the birdbath and broken, but this morning, I found the wiggler pushed to the side of the birdba...

 “Ahem” By Mary J Williams © Going to put water in the birdbath But the water is awful hot Sun shining on the hose all day Use it that way, I’d better not Leaned over the edge of the banister Running the water from the hose Looked to my right at a movement A Groundhog, heaven knows Put down the hose and entered the house Walked to the back room Grabbed up my camera I have a good zoom I didn’t make it outside just then Hubby spilled his Pills Right into my cup of hot coffee Cleaned up first, that I will Then back out the door Looked over the side There was the Groundhog He didn’t even hide I took a quick picture And then realized there were two Took a couple of more On clover they both do chew I watched for a bit The bigger one disappeared Buried in the bushes Along side the fence it appears The darker one is still chewing I made the “Ahem” sound Cleared my voice quite loud And that Groundhog was backyard bound Took off on the run Down the side yard To the back woods My sound s...

 I went out on the deck to hang up a flower basket I saved all winter long. I pulled the hose out and watered. I didn't see nor did I hear the squirrel sneak up on the other side of the deck, lay down over the top of the one feeder and start sucking out the seed. It was a small squirrel so, not very old. I say suck out the seed as there are very small holes about 1/8 inch, drain holes and holes where the bar attaches. I can't think of any other way for them to eat the seed then suck it into their mouths.   I went back into the house and just happened to look out the window and saw that goofy squirrel laying there. "How the heck did I miss seeing him or hearing him?"  I did then what I always do! I whispered the word "squirrel", both dogs came running. Now, I opened the door, the squirrel was so involved in eating didn't see me, or didn't care, and didn't see the dogs.  I tried to point out the squirrel to the dogs and they were, "huh?" ...

 This is the story and it really did happen!  My husband and I go out to eat on Friday nights. On this night we went to one of my favorite places, Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner. Hubby had chopped steak and baked potato. He didn't finish either item and we brought home a "to go" box.  Because the steak had mushrooms and onions, he didn't eat them, so I added all that to the box.  A few days later I had the leftover chopped steak with the mushrooms and onions and I took the potato that was left and took it outside and set it in one of the planters and completely forgot about it, until this morning. I was doing my regular morning tasks, bringing out all the suet and seed I store in my house at night. I have to, or the raccoons will eat everything in sight.  I also clean the birdbath and put in fresh water. I looked at the birdbath and "what the heck is that?"  I went over and looked closely and couldn't believe my eyes. There were pieces of potato in the b...

 I am up at 5:05 a.m. My mind is working overtime and I figured I might as well get up, let Lacy out, put the birdseed out and make the coffee. I walk into the kitchen and start Jim's coffee, grab a couple of the bird feeders, open the door and head out on the deck with Lacy and pretty much stop in my tracks. There on a 2 x 4 post of the deck was a Raccoon. Not a real large one, I am guessing just a youngster, maybe, as stubborn as it was a teenager.  I tried to get Lacy back in the house, but she totally ignored me, never saw the Raccoon, and even with her sharp nose, didn't catch the scent either. I was amazed! Down the steps she went to the back yard, more likely the concrete pad, to do her business. The Raccoon and I were pretty much just looking at each other. I decided to go in the house and go get my camera! I really didn't think the Raccoon would still be there but, it was. I took a couple of pictures, with my flash up, and the flash didn't go off! I finally mov...