Wacky Wednesday Critters -Poems for a Winter’s Day

Allen and Kiki were much too busy to sit still for Story Time today. They just had some Holiday Kitty Treats to munch on, and are off looking for adventures and playing with their new toys. They may just show up later. Meanwhile, I thought this might be a good time to look at some more silly poems.

I’ve always felt sorry for those poor reindeer who had to pull Santa’s sleigh all the way around the world in the cold night, and in such a hurry. So here’s one who has retired to the good old reindeer life, at least until next year.

A reindeer whose nickname was Lloyd
after Christmas was quite unemployed
Now he sleeps in the night
to his reindeer delight
on toy missions no longer deployed

Speaking of animals who have to haul sleds around, those mushing dogs up north there somewhere have a big job, too. This particular set at least has some shoes for their back feet. Makes me wonder why they don’t have shoes on their front paws, too. Has there been a doggie-shoe shortage?

A couple of big dogsled pullers
decided they wanted some crullers
Their friends were inclined
to be very kind
They brought donuts in several colors

Have you ever considered what a porcupine would do if she wanted to wear clothes?

A porcupine whose first name was Willi
bought a jacket ‘cause she felt so chilly
but she still was quite cold
‘cause the jacket got “holed”
It seems that she just was too quilly

So how do dolphins learn to do those things like leaping around and such? Are they taught how to do that by their parents?

A dophin who lived down near Goshun
came up with a fabulous notion
He would start his own school
and instead of a pool
he would rope off a part of the ocean

Yes, I know that popcorn seems to have nothing to do with anything here, but it made it easy to rhyme.

A meerkat named Edna went shopping
for some corn that she wanted for popping
but a storm on that day
nearly washed her away
and her plans ended up to be sopping

Are there bees hanging around ski slopes? If not, where do they go in the winter? This frog must have been pretty surprised.

A froggy was learning to ski
when she chanced to encounter a bee
The bee didn’t sting
but just fluttered his wing
while buzzing a sweet melody

With news of the dreadful cold that is gripping much of the country this week comes a story of headlines warning residents of south Florida to watch out for iguanas falling out of trees. Seems that iguanas, being cold-blooded critters, cannot function when the temperatures get below about 45⁰F, and their bodies go into dormancy. The predictions for this week in that part of the world are in the low 30’s, thus the warning. Hopefully, most of the big lizards will be able to be surrounded by warmer temps soon enough to revive.

I once encountered an iguana in the wild. I was standing on a 2-foot-high wall somewhere in the middle of the Mayan ruins of Chitzen Itza, when I looked down and a large iguana was looking at me. I remember contemplating whether I should be frightened. I decided not, and eventually, both the lizard and I decided to move on.

An iguana got caught in a storm
and went into a house to get warm
The owner freaked out
and started to shout
His welcome was barely lukewarm

Now that the winter solstice is past, at least those of us in the northern hemisphere can look forward to a little more daylight each day, and eventually to springtime and flowers replacing snow.

A large bee whose nickname was Bumble
was clumsy and tended to stumble
When he entered a rose
he would fall on his nose
then, nectarless, leave with a grumble

Just one more. A few days ago, the men’s soccer team representing Argentina won the Men’s World Cup Soccer Tournament. Many news outlets carried a photo of the happy team, with their star player Messi holding up their trophy. Reddit also carried a picture of the same team, but this time the trophy was replaced with a capybara. The story I heard said that the capybara, locally called a carpincho, is very popular in Argentina, and some wag re-named it the “cupybara” in honor of their sports triumph.

All of that to explain that I could find no assurance that the photo was in the public domain. So, instead of posting it here, I offer to you a link to the site.

A cute capybara named Cream
became a mascot for a team
When the team won the cup
they held him right up
and he cheered with the guys, it would seem

https://www.reddit.com/r/capybara/comments/zr9a2b/messi_lifts_the_world_cupybara_for_argentina

I think we’re about done for today. The kitties have not caused any obvious mischief while I was working on this diary. Perhaps they have been napping. Here they come to say goodbye. I’ll have to read them the poems … after treat time, of course.

We hope you are staying warm and having a good holiday season. We wish for you a very Happy New Year. May all of us have joy and peace and good health in 2023.