Postcards from Paradise, Mockingbird

 I listened to this little tyke chirp for days

Calling his mom to come feed him bugs

I watched him test his wings

Trying to gain height

Too young yet

I watched as he opened his mouth wide

And received all manner of icky juicy bugs

Oh how he loved them.

 

Then I saw a black snake

A black racer that lives in the neighborhood

A frequent visitor to our yard

Chase after this baby mockingbird

Looking for his own dinner

 

Watching out the window, I saw mother and father

Mockingbird

Surround that black, slithering thing

Wings spread

Trying to look BIG and FEROCIOUS

Like  wild, snake-eating beasts

And it worked

Snake slithered under the fence

Baby was saved

Such courage!

Such mother/father love

 

 

 

I could not resist

Crawling behind foliage 

To take his picture

In the place where he tried to hide from predators

(Like me perhaps)

Listening to his mother's frantic chirps to stay silent

Stay quiet

And suddenly I felt the peck at the back of my head

The sharpness of a wing beating against my cheek

Like a true predator I fled from this mother's wrath

 

Again, such courage by

Mother/Father love

 

 

 

The Mocking-Bird

 

In mirth he mocks the other birds at noon,

Catching the lilt of every easy tune;

But when the day departs he sings of love, -

His own wild song beneath the listening moon.

                                    Henry Van Dyke

 

Linked to more Paradise at:
Rebecca

 

Prisoner Of Hearts - Haiku

 

Tender and so true

Will this prisoner of hearts

Find the strength to flee

 

Or will she be chained

Within transparent heart walls

Fearing to break one

 

 

 

Linked to:

Rebecca and more Haiku



Spoiled?? Nah!

 

Does it get much cuter than this?

Snuggling down into her soft blankie and her fuzzy pillow cloth?

Well, yes it does.

When I snuck up on her, so quietly,

her eyes were closed.

I could almost swear she was snoring.

Well, almost.

Now that was cute!

I was soooo very quiet.

Even got the whirring camera settings ready before I went in the room.

Took off my shoes and went barefoot.

When I raised the camera, her eyes were closed.

When the picture came out....Viola!

Open eyes!

She must have heard me breathing!

You just can't put anything over on Ms. Wee!

 

Mornings With Mary

Mornings With Mary - Eternity

 

This morning does not bring a spiritual statue of Mary

Or a gentle painting of Mary

Or a verse loving and admiring Mary

Or anything else absolutely, positively just Mary.

 

But... I do have an angel.

I believe, if there are truly angels,

Real ones, 

Then Mary must have some influence over them.

She must help teach angels to watch over us when she is busy elsewhere

(and she must be very busy)

A small part of her must be within each lovely angel,

To make us feel so secure and loved when we think of them,

Or see them,

Or feel the presence of Mary herself.

 

 

 

 

My little angel watches over my pet cemetary.

In my life, my pets are like part of my soul.

I love them,

Cherish them,

Care for and protect them while they are with me.

And when they are gone (always too soon)

I give them their own little space,

With their own little slate headstone,

Under the shade of a Lakeview Jasmine tree

That drops its white petals over them and covers their space with pureity.

 

 

 

 

 

These spaces belong to my parakeet Otherbird

My parakeet Yellabird

And Baby Dove that fell out of his nest and died on my front porch.

He became mine then, and momma dove approved I think.

 

And I'm sure there will be more as the years go by.

 

They have Mother Nature's bunny to keep them company,

and one of Mary's angels to watch over them.
I think their tiny souls are happy.

********************************

 

Gratefully linked to
Rebecca and other Mary Love

 

 

 



A Visitor In The Rain

It's been raining all day here, and this little guy came to visit this afternoon.  I heard a noise on the front porch, and this is what I found. 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been wondering what has been sleeping in my plants and leaving a little smashed place.  Thought it was the neighborhood bunnies.  Maybe not? 

Little tyke was soaking wet, searching and digging for food. 

Cute, but he can find a better place to live I'm sure. 

I opened the door and threw him an old biscuit, but he checked it out then saw me and ran away.  Guess he only eats icky stuff!

 

Meanwhile, back in the warm, dry corner of the kitchen, the nesting continues.