This bat intruder did not survive my attempts to remove him from the clutches of the kittens. I fear its savior was its executor. Sorry, winged one.
For Jennifer’s Halloween Challenge prompt bat.
Gone Batty
5 Replies
Category Archives: photos of animals
J’accuse
J’accuse
Those who meander the paths of zoos
gain exercise as they peruse
the animals by ones and twos.
Whatever pathways they may cruise
will lead them to new rendezvous:
otters as they blithely ooze
through water as if to amuse.
They watch the bowerbird as it woos
with intricate patterns it pursues,
the aardvarks, elephants and gnus.
Did Mother Nature simply choose
to create hippos and kangaroos
with the intention to bemuse
these interlopers in tennis shoes?
Does our curiosity excuse
and give us license to abuse
koala bears and caribous?
We see it nightly in the news—
the ways that all of us misuse
the wonders of nature. We refuse
to stem consumerism, excuse
pollution, fracking and more taboos.
Imprison animals in zoos,
then honor them with our reviews
of fascinated ahhhs and ooos.
The prompt word today was ooze.
Little Savages
Little Savages
Hungry little savages attack the bedroom rug,
assaulting the tassels as they sortie for a bug.
They pounce upon the jingling ball, climb the sliding screen,
finding potential nourishment in everything they’ve seen.
They fall upon the kitten food and empty out their dishes,
inspecting corners of their bowls–stray morsels now their wishes.
Tidily lick my fingers, tongues curling from their lips,
mining me for fish oil caught in whorls of fingertips.
They can find adventure in anything you’d name—
pursuing errant crickets is like stalking wild game.
Every moving thing around is something to be followed—
to be toyed with, then when humans enter, quickly swallowed.
Frisky little savages win every hunting game.
They pounce upon their victim—live or plastic is the same.
They stalk their largest quarry as though they have a map—
track it down and take a leap and curl up in my lap!
(Click on first photo to enlarge all.)
Ollie..runt of the litter.
The prompt word today was savage.
Kitten Afternoon
Kitten Afternoon
They tumble off the bed and land on padded feet,
light as feathers blown by wind, their movements sure and fleet.
They leap upon the pillows, sliding down the back
of the leather sofa, this little feline pack.
Off on single sorties, still they must collect
together in a pile to communally reflect
on the adventures of the day: the palm fronds they’ve combatted
and all the tiny spaces they have covertly catted.
They bravely face the secrets under the guest room bed,
approaching cowering crickets with fascinated dread.
They eye the inert bed cat with a careful glance,
then settle down around her, mirroring her stance.
Tumblers and explorers, their days are wildly varied––
sculptures to be batted at, business to be buried.
Laps to be climbed up on, computers to be checked.
Feathers to be batted at. Bird nests to be wrecked.
With their indulgent human approving all of it,
that nests are being shredded matters not a whit.
These kittens are her little bits of kinetic art,
infusing her still house with a spontaneous heart.
Those who say that kittens are a bother and a mess
could not begin to fathom, to comprehend or guess
how those subtle sounds—each skittering and scratching
heard from the next room is another mystery hatching.
Each tiny paw that walks across her unsuspecting chest
as she lies in bed is a most welcome guest,
messing up the covers of her unruffled day
with an invitation to leave her work and play.
Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Two by Two
A two-headed cat, pigs in a poke, marble nude lady wrestlers? Better enlarge these or you’ll miss it all. Click on first photo, please, to enlarge photos to see details.
For Cee’s Couples, Twins and Twos Prompt
Cee’s Fun Foto: View from the Side
To see all photos full size, click on first photo.
This is my answer to Cee’s “View from the Side” Challenge.
Cee’s Black and White Challenge: A or B
“B” is For:
(Click on first photo to enlarge all and see captions.)
Bubbles,
Brooches,
Baubles and Beads,
Bellies,
Boats
and Bullies!
For Cee’s A or B Challenge
Cee’s Fun Foto: Big and Small
Click on first photo to enlarge all and read captions.
Biggest ocean denizen
Big ocean denizen
Big smoke, small smoke
Small roof dweller
Big paddle boarder, small passenger
Big craft, small craft
Little guy
Big sky, small bird
and sneezes.
Midnight Marketplace
For some reason, WP wants to make the first photos huge and the ones I most want you to see are tiny. If you click on the first photo below, it will make the smaller ones larger as well. Also, please note that an explanatory poem follows the photos. Click on the X, upper left of the last photo, to see the poem.
Midnight Marketplace
The server’s hands pour liquid flame,
as though its heat he seeks to tame.
Poured in a river from great height,
a brilliant blue pulses with light
and falls steaming into a cup
for late night diners to drink it up.
Then when the restaurant lights go out,
the cats emerge to run about
through the darkened market aisles
to stalk their prey and sport their wiles—
grooming beneath swaying lights,
arching backs and staging fights.
This world of cats comes out at night—
that time when magic is at its height.
They swarm about and ebb and flow,
everywhere we come and go,
as though by moving through it, they
bring power to a feral day.
The hand that reaches to connect
is not rewarded. It’s suspect.
For as they walk their empty aisles,
over midnight-cooled tiles,
already in our nodding heads
are thoughts of home and welcoming beds.
WP Weekly Photo Challenge: Tiny
Squint your eyes and look in the sky above the left palm tree in the photo above. See the tiny branch sticking up from the top with a tinier knob on the end? That’s a bird. You can see it zoomed up to in the first photo of the mosaic of shots below, all of which depict the word “tiny” to various degrees. If you click on the first one, you, too, can zoom in on them.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 