Yard, Gardens, Birds and Critters

What Should I Do? By Mary J Williams © Lacy had to go outside So, I went out too The sun is shining brightly Inside there is lots to do I don’t care, I’m standing here Soaking up some sun All the weather lately Has really been no fun As I was looking out At the lay of the land An idea came to me I think I have a plan The deck is rotting out Been there over 30 years Time for a change, I think Maybe too much money, I fear I thought about a small, raised bed Line it with concrete blocks I wonder if I should use them Or maybe some pretty rocks Grabbed the pooper scooper Taking care of dog poo Not a job I like But something you have to do Talked to the neighbor a minute We are both hanging in there Hope his Mary heals well Jim too, I always ask in prayer Then into the house Folded some clothes Made some plant water These were the chores I chose No vacuuming for me No dusting either Rather pick up dog poo Gives me a breather Back in the house Coffee is on the menu Will have to feed the dogs ...

 About ten days ago, I quit feeding the birds on the deck. Had to get the deck power washed, dried out and then a sealer applied.  It's been well over a year since the deck was built and I was tired of waiting on the guy who built it.  My son, Chris, took the task on with the help of his son. Every thing was removed from the deck. The railings, floor and the spindles have since been sprayed with the sealer. Dried for a couple of days and yesterday, grandson brought all the things back that were on the deck. Missed a couple of items, but I took care of them today, along with filling the feeders and the birdbath. Of course, I wrote a poem! Finally, the Birds are Back By Mary J Williams © This morning the seed is back Where is the Chickadee? The water is on the deck now But no birds do I see I did work on the seed Had to get rid of mixed nuts They were wet and moldy Aren’t fit for birds, no buts! I watched out the window At my kitchen sink Making soup for supper No birds, do...

Starling - Deer - Wasps and Me By Mary J Williams © Standing at the sink Looking in the tree Are those a ton of Grackles Nope, Starlings they be I was about to go out And scare them away But my little Rosebud Beat me with a bay She thought I saw a critter Barking did commence All those many Starlings Took flight, and it was dense I looked out again As I let the dogs out I walked on the deck To give a big shout Starlings were there In that tree again I glanced down And then I had a grin Wishing I had my camera There in my hand As a pretty doe Was there on my land Of course, Rosebud Just had to see her I saw the flag go up And she left in a blur Then I saw another tail Another made three Deer in my yard I couldn’t be more pleased! No pictures did I get Of the pretty deer But did get pictures of wasps That have been so near!

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...

Conversations By Mary J Williams © I get up in the morning Go out on the deck Jelly dishes in hand Not gonna’ drop a speck Put the dishes in the holder Grab nuts feeder next Put it on the deck Fill to the top, others to check Put out the circle of seed One bird I know loves it It’s the little chickadees They eat quite a bit There is a bird Up in the tree I swear it is cussing And he is doing it to me I tell him I’m filling the feeders Who do you think does that? You just have to have patience Or come to the deck for a chat I look down and there is a honeybee Already going after the grape jelly I just put those dishes out There is enough for your belly I sprinkle some water on flowers And as I am standing there A Downy Woodpecker flies to a feeder He doesn’t even care He talked to me a bit Then got to eating First on the nuts After our little greeting Well, guess who just flew in? It was the mouthy bird A Red-bellied Woodpecker So, I gave him a few choice words I told you I wouldn’t hur...

 I have a fairly large deck. In fact it's a brand new one as the other was getting old and ready to fall down.  We have one of those Ranch styled homes where the back of it is the basement due to the hill it was built on. Front is not quite level with the street but we have a flat front yard after three steps. Maybe I should plop in a picture here, so you know what it really looks like.   Okay, here is where the deck is being built   My steps are basically where that opening is where you see the fence and the neighbors.  Okay, now you know what it sort of looks like.   My back door from the kitchen is up on the left. You can barely see my kitchen window.  At night I don't see too much out that window. I have this green light blub for the deck. I think we put that in one year for Christmas decorations and never changed it up and it doesn't die!  So not lots of light. Why am I yammering about all this? Because I want you to "see" as w...

Ants In My House By Mary J Williams © I saw two ants                                                    In the bathroom sink How did they get there? I need to think It’s not the first time This has happened before Seems like it happens When I go out the door I walk on the deck Check the birdfeeders there Add water to birdbath Water plants, that’s all I swear Come in the house Make second pot of coffee One is for Jim And the other is for me Go comb my hair Then brush my teeth There are the ants Crawling in the sink beneath How did they get there? I have no clue I bet you all know What I am about to do Yep, down the drain they go Water swirling them down You are no more I say with a frown Now I’m at my computer Writing about the raccoon At least I think that’s the critter Hope to figure it out soon I have a spot Floating in my eye. I hope there isn’t anything w...

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  

 “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...

 This has been one of those days! I wrote this poem and then things changed so I wrote another. My poems usually tell a story of what is or has been going on! This is the first part of the story of April 7, 2022.  The Morning Song By Mary J Williams It’s six o’nine in the morning I am letting my dog out the door I hear this lovely song I smile and smile some more The Eastern Bluebird Is one birdsong I know Hearing that song Makes my smile grow I think to myself No meal worms are there I will put some out Hopefully Starlings will share I even put out some fruit Dried blueberries in the dish Hope Starlings don’t throw them out That is my only wish I wouldn’t mind so much if they ate them But if Starlings come along They throw the fruit on the deck floor That’s just not right, it’s wrong Another bird that may be around The Baltimore Oriole dressed in orange and black It sure would be nice to see them Can’t wait till they come back They come to my feeders too The grape jelly is al...

 You wouldn't believe it unless it has happened to you! We had to get a new deck. The other one was way too old for replacement with soft boards and some really rotting out wood.  The old deck was torn down! The thing about this is, our dogs have always went out the back door, out on the deck, down the steps and to the fenced in back yard. Convenient for us and for them. If it was raining, sometimes they went out the back door at the garage. We would leave the door propped open and they would do their business, sometimes, and run back in.  Lacy is kind of different! If it was raining and I let her outside at the backdoor on the deck, she would, sometimes, stand under the eaves and potty and come right back in. Of course, both expected a towel at that time.  The new deck took two days. First torn down, then rebuild. I was so happy! I let the dogs out. They went to where the steps used to be, no stairs. I showed them where they were, they just looked at them, looked at...