We often see the male cardinal visiting the homemade feeder at the side of the house. He seems to have developed an addiction to black oil sunflower seeds. I haven’t seen the female for a while. She may be sitting on a new nest. I hear a lot of singing these days!
Comcast is making good progress on installing the new internet cable system throughout our area. Maybe internet service will improve soon!
My projects are progressing well, and I’ll share more on that when the time comes, but all the hard work and the headaches are taking a toll. Ongoing physical therapy is quite painful and leaves me exhausted. I am not seeing benefits yet. The headaches continue. Computer time is contributing to the stiff muscles in my neck, back, and shoulders which seem to be causing the headaches. My physical therapist has found some abnormalities in my posture. I am leaning to the left (literally), and she thinks I may have a curvature in my spine. I think she will recommend some imaging to my neurologist. Since migraine remedies didn’t work, it is probable that the headaches are not migraines. Computer time is also taking a toll on my eyes.
Yesterday, I heard a loud commotion outside the window. I arrived just in time to see, silhouetted against the sunny sky, screaming birds pursuing slightly larger birds as they rose high in the sky. Then I noticed the mangled nest!
Sadly, I had witnessed a similar scenario before. A dozen years ago, I saw two angry mockingbirds repeatedly attacking a much larger osprey who was carrying their chick to its nest on a pole high above the parking lot. It was a hopeless situation for the mockingbirds, but they continued to attack.
Though I didn’t get a clear view of the birds yesterday, I am pretty sure the nest raider was a blue jay, known for preying on cardinal chicks.
Soon all was quiet. I saw the male cardinal pausing at the edge of the woods, silent now, and looking back toward the ruined nest as if to say goodbye. Cardinal family, you are in my thoughts. I share your sorrow, and I will always remember being privileged to witness your loving family life for an all-too-brief period.
I was too distraught to write about these devastating events yesterday, but this morning, it occurred to me that, even among humans, this is nature’s way. Many human children are victims of accidents, cruel diseases, famines, and wars not of their making. Many children die too soon. Today, I grieve for all the lost children, both animal and human.
Photo of male cardinal by Patrice Boucher from Unsplash
Photo of female cardinal by Joshua Cotten from Unsplash
Cardinals at the Palm Palace
Three small eggs,
pale blue flecked with brown
in a nest
made with love,
so exquisitely woven,
softly lined with grass.
Like a queen
in your palm palace,
self-assured
on your throne,
faithful cardinal mother
keeping your eggs warm.
We watched you
weaving your fine nest,
discovered
your blue eggs.
Pretty Mama, we share your
anticipation!
Very soon
your handsome husband
will help you
feed hatchlings…
King and Queen in your green realm,
reigning together.
We will watch
as hatchlings become
fledgelings, sprout
new feathers…
wobbly, but growing stronger,
flapping tiny wings.
Sometime soon,
comes the day they fly.
Under the
watchful eyes
of their parents, they’ll practice.
Soon, they’ll fly away!
We will watch
flapping tiny wings,
self-assured.
Someday soon,
King and Queen in your green realm…
Soon, they’ll fly away!
The cardinals’ nest, the “Palm Palace” is located among the fronds in the back of the tree on the left. We have a clear view of the nest from the window.
Northern cardinals live in North America. They are the predominate bird in our neighborhood. A pair of cardinals have a nest in our little palm tree that is clearly visible from our window. The mother bird is sitting on three eggs.
From my research, I learned that they raise two families a year. I think this is the second nest. We have not seen the father yet. He is probably at the first nest feeding the hatchlings while his wife is sitting on eggs in the second nest. When the eggs hatch, he should be here to help feed the hatchlings their diet of insects.
Robert and I made a feeder, hung it on a shepherd’s crook, and filled it with black oil sunflower seeds, supposedly the favorite treat of cardinals. We also put out water on a stand. So far, there is no evidence that the birds are using it. Thank you, Joanna of naturetails, for your advice on providing both food and water.
I meant to post this before Easter, but WordPress problems have slowed me down. Anyway, I hope everyone had a happy Easter and a lovely weekend! I am getting the computer problems worked out, but I still may not be able to “like” for a while. I appreciate your patience.
Adapted from the traditional children’s song, “Old McDonald Had a Farm.”
Photos by Ellen, Katey and friends.
With a neigh, neigh here…
and an oink, oink there…
Here a mew, there a mew…
Everywhere a mew, mew!
Katey and Ellen visited a ranch. E-I-E-I-OOO!
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, my daughters from Texas and I visited Zoo Tampa and had a wonderful time. On Wednesday, they visited the ranch of some of their friends in nearby Arcadia. I stayed home to rest and prepare for Thanksgiving dinner the next day.
I love the photos Katey and Ellen shared from that trip. Katey and Ellen love horses and volunteer at a ranch in Texas that uses horse riding therapy for disabled children. The pig in the pictures is a rescued wild pig. Cats and kittens on the ranch are very affectionate. One in particular seemed to want to go back to Texas with Katey. They also fed peanuts to a friendly squirrel!
After a quiet Thanksgiving and a dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, and ice cream, we rested up for a boat tour and dinner overlooking the bay in Punta Gorda on Friday. Robert was supposed to go with us, but the weather was a little cool and windy. On Saturday, we took a water taxi to an island restaurant, then had decadent deserts in Boca Grande. The girls went for a swim at the beach near the lighthouse.
Katey Batavia, Ellen Maher, Cheryl Batavia on the water taxi.
I have been under the weather, so we didn’t take the road trip we had planned, just some day trips nearby. Allergies and a sinus infection, followed by 24/7 migraine headaches for several months have slowed me down. I recently had an MRI, which ruled out the most serious possible causes of the migraines. A neurologist’s visit is scheduled for March to follow up. Meanwhile, a prescription for migraines from my family doctor should ease my pain. Hopefully, next year, my daughters and I will take our usual road trip.
When my daughters visited from Texas recently, one of our excursions was to Zoo Tampa, rated the number five Zoo in the US. We participated in a “Feed the Rhino” experience and learned about how Zoo Tampa’s breeding program is helping to prevent extinction of the Indian Rhino. The “Feed the Rhino” animal encounter and photo purchases also raise money to support this program. Katey Batavia, Ellen Maher, and Cheryl Batavia.
Cheryl feeding collard greens to a young Indian Rhino. Notice the prehensile lips and short horn that distinguish Indian rhinos from African rhinos.
We enjoyed a ride on the old-fashioned carousel. Katey posed on a carousel animal.
On “safari” through the African animal enclousure, we relaxed on a tram riding past elephants, giraffes, storks, and painted dogs.
West Indian Manatee entering the viewing area. We also saw a beautiful manatee mother and calf in the aquarium/reptile exhibit. Zoo Tampa has a manatee rescue program for manatees injured by boat propellors. In spite of boating laws to protect them, some accidents still occur.
American flamingos wowed us in the Florida native animal area. They now live in the wild in Everglades National Park after a hundred-year absence from Florida in the wild. They unexpectedly reappeared about twenty years ago. There is speculation that they came from South America. Photo by Karolina Bobeck from Unsplash.
Endangered Florida panthers are featured in the Florida exhibit. Florida panthers are being bred in captivity and are rarely seen in the wild. Bobcats, also featured in the exhibit, have adapted to living near people and are a common sight in suburban Florida neighborhoods.
A sun bear was a delight to watch as he played with a toy that dispensed a snack.
Afternoon meeting on the primate island.
Ellen and Katey. Photo by Cheryl.
Heading home from Tampa. Sunset from the St. Petersburg Skyway Bridge. Photo by Katey Batavia.
We had a great time at Zoo Tampa! Rhino photos by zoo photographer, other uncredited photos by Ellen and Katey.
What a delightful visitor! All the rain has made it difficult for landscapers to keep up with mowing. This gopher tortoise noticed and paid us a visit. Robert found the tortoise grazing on our weedy, overgrown lawn next to the woods.
Gopher tortoises build extensive networks of underground burrows which they use for many generations. Other small animals also use these burrows. Many houses are being built in our largely wooded neighborhood, and the habitat of these endangered tortoises is rapidly disappearing.
Gopher Tortoises Displaced is my first garland shardoma.
A big thank you to David, who blogs at The Skeptics Kaddish, for talking me into writing a poem in this form. It was great fun writing this, David! ❤
A garland shardoma has seven verses. Each verse has a syllable count of 3/5/3/3/7/5 and is unrhymed. The seventh verse is composed of lines taken from the other verses.
Arctic terns at Ten Thousand Islands, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world. The green shrub on the left is a mangrove, and the green in the distance is a very large mangrove island. Photo by Ellen Maher.
Birds Fishing in the Mangrove Forest
Rocky
mangrove island,
safe perch for arctic terns.
Inches above the waves, they find
refuge.
Osprey, also called a fish hawk, feeding its chicks. Photo by Richard Lee on Unsplash.
Mangroves
create islands,
green in a sea of blue.
Ospreys soar majestically in
blue skies.
Anhinga, also called a snake bird for its long neck. Photo by Mac Weaver from Unsplash.
Streamlined,
anhinga dives
to fish underwater,
spreads water-soaked wings to dry in
sunshine.
Great egret flying and two snowy egrets wading in the water. Photo by William Foley from Unsplash.
Snow white
egrets stand motionless,
fishing in the shallows,
alert, their long, sharp beaks poised to
spearfish!
Pelican in Everglades National Park near Ten Thousand Islands. Photo by Ellen Maher.
Sunset,
pelican flies
at Ten Thousand Islands.
Seeking a little bedtime snack,
he dives!
Pelican flying near Ten Thousand Islands at Everglades National Park. Photo by Ellen Maher.
Please Note: This post was written from my own experiences in Florida. I learned about environmental topics from news and documentaries, and I did some basic research while writing poems about Florida animals. I am not a scientist, just a retired elementary school teacher who cares about the environment.
It’s a big world! Please feel free to provide additional information from your experiences and perspective in the comments. Thank you. 🙂
A bottlenose Dolphin surfaces at Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park, near Florida City, Florida. Dolphins here are smaller than those in the open ocean, and water tends to be shallow, about eight feet deep in most places. Mangrove islands are in the background. Photo by Katey Batavia.
In the Mangrove Forest
Serenely we sail over sparkling seas
under a cloudless, boundless, bright, blue sky.
Aloft, uplifted by auspicious breeze,
above green mangrove islands, ospreys fly.
Calusas in canoes once feasted here;
shell middens at campsites made islands rise.
Homesteaders came, some island land to clear,
but nature soon reclaimed her paradise.
In wakes of boats, the friendly dolphins play,
delightful as they were in olden days!
Shell Middens
Shell middens are mounds of shells left behind from Native American seafood meals. The mounds may also contain bones, pottery shards, and other discarded materials. At Ten Thousand Islands, you can identify islands with shell middens by their slightly higher altitude. Trees grow atop the middens, rising above the surrounding mangroves.
Osprey chicks are growing up in a nest of sticks built atop this sign and safe from most predators. Everglades National Park, Ten Thousand Islands, near Florida City, Florida.
These mangrove shrubs spread by extending aerial roots down through the salt water into the soil. In Ten Thousand Islands, mangroves have formed about fourteen thousand islands, comprising one of the largest mangrove forests in the world. Photo by Katey Batavia.
Cattails and mangroves growing along the Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida. Photo by Ellen Maher.
Gulf Coast Poet 