Nothing lasts forever

Peacock strutting proud

Magnificent feather display

Leading the pack

Females following him

Another Peacock approaches

Wanting to steal his harem

They square up

A fight is inevitable

They walk in a circle

Eyes on each other

Leaping up in the air

Wings flapping wildly

Claws lashing out

They both land

Facing off again

Walking in a circle

Another leap together

The challenger lands first

He scurries away

Admitting defeat

Territory defended

The peacock struts proud

His harem in tow

Other males watch in envy

He will be challenged again

Eventually he will lose

To a younger stronger male

Nothing lasts forever

Sugar and bacon

I once met a pet house pig called Sugar

She was very sweet

Sugar would come when called

Pigs are very intelligent animals

She got too big for her owner 

Sugar now lives on an animal rescue farm

It was hard to look at her as a food item

I do however think of her every time I smell bacon

I am planning a road trip to see Sugar

Along with her owner and close friends

We will hire a driver and a minibus

Sing songs along the way

Fueled by adult beverages and snacks

Upon arrival there will be selfies

Postings on Facebook and Instagram

A guess the weight of Sugar competition

All guesses will carry an entry fee

The winner gets to collect all the money

And hand it to the animal rescue staff

There will be tearful goodbyes

More singing and drinking going back

Stopping at a restaurant for dinner

Will anybody dare to order pulled pork or bacon

We love you Sugar

Spider chase

Slinky spider

Hairy  legs

Creeping slowly

Across bedroom

Pausing often

Sneaky meander

Over carpet

Eyes swiveling 

Sees me

I lunge

Quick dart

Chase on

Throw shoe

Big miss

Spider hides

Under bed

I wait

He waits

Who dares

Next move

I wait

He waits

Peek under

See him

Beyond reach

Spider waits

I wait

Formulate plan

Get broom

Slide broom

Under bed

Force spider

To move

Other side

Plan executed

Spider runs

Across floor

I race

Around bed

Fly swatter

In hand

Spider faster

Escapes easily

Under door

Open door

Spider disappeared

I wait

spider waits

No sign

I wait

spider waits

I surrender

Spider won

Its a dogs life

my name is Daisy

I live in an English farmhouse

we have a big garden

I often go outside to pee

I sleep a lot

my owners put food in my bowl

I slurp when I drink

I like tummy rubs

they take me on daily walks

they think they lead the way

but I am their leader

I pull them around

their arms get tired

when we get back I take a nap

usually on the couch

I like to steal socks

I might let go for a treat

they think I am trained

but its me who trained them

to give me a treat when I sit or lay down

if they go out and leave me

I take a long nap

when they come back

I wag my tail and jump on them

they are so grateful

that they give me more treats

who said its a dogs life

my life is great

better than most humans

Owl magic

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I stayed up late

Wrestling over a big decision

Not sure of the outcome

Hours of tapping on the keyboard

Flipping  between screens

I decided to take a break

Stepping outside

Taking in the fresh air

Then I could could hear it

An owl calling me ever so clear

Hoot hoot, hoot hoot

I decided to listen harder

And ask the owl what I should do

He answered in owl talk 

Do it do it to oooo do it to ooo

So I decided to do it

Despite all the risks

And it worked out great

I sang to the owls

Thank you too hoo

Thank you too hoo

Lunar Moth Mystery

We often sit out by the fire pit late in the evening

sipping a cocktail and watching the flames

its a great way to decompress

after a hard day full of fun activities

having been out there for twenty minutes 

Karen pointed out a huge green moth

he was on the wall right in front of us

he had appeared from nowhere by magic

within a few clicks Mr Google explained all

he was a luna moth

a very unusual creature

lime green and five inches in size

with no mouth or digestive tract

only living for seven days

with one purpose to his short existence 

to find a nocturnal mate and make love

we tried to figure out why he was on the wall

so close to the fire

did he like the light or the heat

perhaps in a state of post coital bliss

he was perfectly still 

more news from Mr Google

Luna moths have a spiritual meaning

representing rebirth and renewal of body and spirit

Karen went inside for a few minutes

as if he had been waiting for her to leave

our Luna moth immediately started to move

flapping his wings and crawling a short way

he took off and flew directly towards the fire pit

crashing into the glass surround three times

before flying higher and over the glass

he deliberately flew into the flames and was cremated

Lessons from zoo life

the Williams  family took a trip to the zoo

Mike and his wife Sue had three kids

Jenny Lucy and Rob were all excited

heading straight for the chimpanzee enclosure

they laughed at the chimps through the glass

Jenny made a funny face

a chimp approached the glass

he made a face back at her

Lucy held up a banana 

another chimp ran to the glass and pointed

he wants the banana laughed Rob

the chimp gestured to his mouth

the chimp then pointed to the sky

he wants us to throw it over said Mike

they all laughed more

time to go said Sue as they headed to the penguins

chimps have their own non-verbal language

Bonzo said why to these people come here

just to make stupid faces at us

they cannot even speak our language

dumb humans show us a banana said Bubbles

but ignore our hunger cries

we even tell them how to throw it to us

but they cannot figure out how to do it

I feel sorry for them said Pankun

they are so unsophisticated

totally lacking any intelligence 

its very sad that they can’t understand us

Aldo said I have a plan

we should climb out of here and follow them home

then patiently teach each one how to communicate with us

I dream that one day they will evolve into intelligent life forms said Kiki

The one man circus at sunrise

a great blue heron stands proud by the pond

strutting delicately through the reeds

each footstep slowly searching for the bottom

minimal movements with purpose and precision

silent stalking at sunrise

once in position he freezes

neck coiled like a loaded rifle

stealthy sniper oozes killing confidence

with orders to shoot on sight

head slightly tilted for one eyed aim

patiently waiting for an unsuspecting fish to swim by

total concentration on his task 

clearing his mind of all other thoughts

meditating in his favorite yoga pose

repeating his mantra

I catch fish

I catch fish

I catch fish

the trigger is pulled

launching his beak missile into the water

its all over in a quick splash

lifting his head up to show off his prize

the fish held tightly in a vice like grip

hopeless wriggles will not free him

a few struts back away from the water

lest his prey should slip from his grasp

it will not swim away on solid ground

ringmaster makes an announcement

gather round for some spectacular juggling

no spectators at the ring today

shaking his head to signal the start his act

flicking the fish skywards

spinning him to line up with his throat

closing his beak at the exact moment

reaching up to straighten his neck

releasing his grip in short gulping bursts 

the fish slides down head first with ease

bowing to the silent applause

the show is over folks says the ringmaster

the one man circus flies away

Entanglement

Darryl is an experienced master diver

he has travelled all over the world on diving vacations

having seen reefs dying and extensive pollution of the seas

he was acutely aware of the human threat to marine life

unfortunately the seas are largely ignored by politicians

Darryl became an ambassador for marine life

distributing films documenting marine pollution

something strange occurred while filming in the Pacific islands

on a routine filming dive he spotted a tiger shark

these are dangerous animals and can attack divers

but this tiger shark was entangled in a fishing net

if left alone he would surely die from starvation

Darryl surfaced and met with his diving buddies

they knew it was risky but it had to be done

they decided to dive down in a team of three

one diver would watch and film the other two

Darryl swam alongside the tangled tiger shark

who seemed to understand that the divers were helping him

Darryl started to cut the ropes with his sharp diving knife

his buddy was pulling on the rope to keep it under tension

it was going to be a long operation as the rope was thick and tough

cutting so close to the fin of the shark required great care

after almost an hour they had cut away most of the rope

but they had to resurface for fresh air tanks

as they swam away the tiger shark made slow circles

he knew they would return to finish the job

Darryl sharpened his knife on the surface

fully aware that the tiger shark could attack him down there

he dived down again towards the waiting animal

It suddenly lunged at him

the tiger shark was inches from his face and he could see its eyes

it spun around and stopped alongside Darryl

presenting its tangled fin for him to finish the job

when Darryl made the final cut he stroked the back of the shark

the wild beast rubbed himself against his rescuers legs

he was saying thank you before he swam off

Darryl won a lot of awards for that film

Owl Chatter

It was a very dark evening

low clouds hugging the ground

soaking everything

damping down all noise

no traffic on the street

everybody was hunkered down for the night

the silence was almost total

stepping outside to put the trash out

my footsteps were deafening

something compelled me to remain outside a moment longer

suddenly an owl hooted

hoohoo hooooooo

another owl hooted back

hooooo hoo hoo ho

long and short hoots in bursts

morse code of the night forrest

potential prey staying silent

not wanting to attract attention

leaving the owls center stage

no moonlight or twinkling stars above

eternal blackness and cold damp silence 

a perfect night for long range nocturnal raptor chatter

back inside the TV was blaring

imported artificial noise felt lame

turning off the TV and all the lights

listening intensely in the dark silence 

a faint hoot beckoned me to open a window

owl banter flooded the room

hoooo hoo hoo hoooo hoo

more entertaining than a Netflix script

but I wondered what they were saying

staring at the TV remote

fantasizing there might be an owl subtitles button

they kept hooting all night

hooooooo hoohoo hoo hoo

Listen Great Horned Owls here!