Oh, little birdies on the grass
A-hunting for your wormy lunch
The sun is shining brightly as
You wait and watch for worms to munch
You should have been here yesterday
It rained and flooded all the lawn
The driveway was a worm buffet
You surely could have feasted on
Maybe that's not what birds do
Maybe soggy worms are blah
But there's one thing I feel is true
Un-soggy worms aren't much bettah
*****
This poem was inspired by the dozens of worms that crawled onto our driveway from the lawn in the rain.
I rescued a few that made it under the garage door, and figured the rest would crawl back to the lawn when the rain stopped.
They did not.
Don't read the next line if you are squeamish.
They were dried up in the sun the next day and I was sad.
 |
| Probably what the worms were thinking when they got stranded. |
Hope you had a better week than the worms did.
Tell Donkey all about it if you like.
Don't be sad, dried up worms might be the bird equivalent of fried food.
ReplyDeleteSmiling at your poem.
ReplyDeleteMy week has been challenging. I will be glad to only face it in the rear view mirror.
The birds missed out. The geese at the pond have new goslings, and the trail across the dam is a minefield of goose-poop.
ReplyDeleteBriana was in a car accident and just got home from the hospital with a cast on her arm. I'm trying to convince her to take the medications they sent home with her, but she is resisting a little. I thought of you and your mom when I saw the six bottles of pills that she hasn't even read the instructions to yet.
Tomorrow will be another day, and health will prevail one way or another.
Part of the problem is that her glasses did not survive the crash and getting her to read small print is out of the question.
Note to self for tomorrow: Get the instructions out and read them to her.
Wish me luck.
-Doug in Sugar Pine
I remember dried up worms after heavy rain. I think they drown, which is perhaps a quicker death than drying out in the sun.
ReplyDeleteNothing much this week. Seeing Mother on Sunday. Thirty minutes and I will want to leave. Worse for my partner because he actually listens to her. He gets frustrated and angry. I just get bored.
I see a few dried up worms at times but the birds probably pick them off long before I get a look.
ReplyDeleteThese verses are inspired indeed!
ReplyDeleteThe vilest part of being a bird
Would be the stuff on which they feed;
To eat a worm seems so absurd.
Poor worms are first drowning, the drying out in the sun. I always collect them and put then in the shadow on dry ground - even if I do not know if this helps. I too do not like to see the sun dried worms.
ReplyDeleteI like your poem, and I too wonder why the birds are not feasting on the water-logged worms on the pavemnents. They might be blah ;)
I always wonder the same thing when I see stranded worms on the sidewalk -- why aren't the birds eating them?! I guess they don't like "worm jerky."
ReplyDeleteI suspect the worms are too short on brain cells for regret. It seems a pointless way to go, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteLove the poem. I feel sorry for the worms too but with each serious rainfall, they are back in abundance on the driveway. Must be lots around.
ReplyDeleteWell... worms are a lot nicer than slugs in my book :)
ReplyDeleteA poem! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteRiver: You may have just successfully put me off fried food forever :)
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child: I'm glad to have provided a smile, but I'm sympathizing on your week being vile. I hope things get better in short order. Sending hugs your way.
Doug: Definitely wishing you all the good luck. Reading the instructions to Briana will be a huge help if she depends on her glasses. If you have a magnifying glass she may be able to do it on her own as the days go by. I'm sorry to hear about the accident and her broken arm. She's going to need some help for a while but I'm pretty sure you have that covered. I hope she heals well, and quickly. Look after yourselves, eh?
Andrew: The thing is, I've picked up those worms when they're stranded, and they're always still alive. Which is why it made me sad to see them dried out, I might have saved them. But there were too many for me to pick them all up and relocate them, and also I wasn't sure if the bare ground where I put the others was any better than the grassy area they were leaving behind. I don't do well with life and death decisions for nature's children.
I hear you on the visit with Mother. I used to be mostly like R - trying to make sense of the conversation and getting frustrated. Now I am more like you - just letting it flow past me, which does lead to boredom. Thirty minutes is a long time in those circumstances. But she probably appreciates the company, which is some consolation. I think.
Mike: You might be right - I didn't see very many dried up worms the second day after the rain. Maybe the birds ARE eating them. This needs more research!
ReplyDeleteInfidel753: Ah, well done!!
Charlotte: Another worm-carer :) I don't have much, if any, dry land here when it rains, but I try to find a less-wet spot at least!
Steve: Between you and River I am quickly losing categories of food items from my diet. lol
kylie: Just musing on your last thought and thinking to myself that it doesn't just apply to worms ...
Miss Kim: I have to agree with that! Not a fan of slugs, no matter how hard I try :)
Anonymous: Thank you! The first line slipped into my head and wouldn't leave, which usually means I have to write it down before I can get rid of it echoing around in there :)
I love your poem! We have had heavy rain today so I suspect I may be dodging worms when I go out. The cat in the water is a great picture. Of course, cats would only admit a mistake to themselves. If you ask them they will tell you they meant to do it!
ReplyDeleteHere in upstate South Carolina the April Showers were not as bad as I expected
ReplyDeleteAww poor worms. We have 2 beautiful cats hanging around our house at the moment and have no idea where they have come from. Every time we open a door they try to rush into our house, it's slightly strange. My partner is allergic to any cat fur so it's not ideal!
ReplyDeleteMarie: Blogger is acting weird - comments are not segregated anymore by whether they've been published or whether they're in the queue to be published - so I missed your comment on the first pass! Yes, you're right about the worms - there appears to be no shortage :)
ReplyDeleteBonnie: Haha! You nailed it :)
Adam: That could be a good thing or a bad thing, I guess, depending on how dry the wells are :)
Joey: Oh dear ... maybe they were abandoned? Or maybe in a car accident and got free? There are so many possibilities. I wonder if they are microchipped? Two showing up at once seems strange indeed, especially if they seem well cared for. I hope you solve the mystery and they can go back home. Good luck!
I think it's six of one, half a dozen of the other for the worms. In the dirt they drown, on the sidewalk they fry. Once after a big rain I watched a robin gobble up his fill of worms, plus. So many worms, not enough belly. So it spent half an hour picking up worms, flying to the telephone wire and dropping them, head cocked to see them fall and land. Down for another, up to drop it. He had quite a pile on the drive before he finally left.
ReplyDeleteYour poem is excellent, i smiled all the way through.
ReplyDeleteIt seems worms are not very bright.
It's been a long week, but all shall be well.
We figured her meds out and she's doing much better now.
ReplyDelete-Doug in Sugar Pine
Joanne: What fascinating behavior! We tend to think all animal behavior is to meet their basic needs, but there is plenty of evidence they also play. Sounds like this guy was doing something like that. And you've answered my question - birds do eat rain-stranded worms!
ReplyDeleteMimi: Always glad to make someone smile :) And I'm also glad it's the weekend for those having a long week!
Doug: Ah, that's good to hear.
Your poem made me laugh - I love it! I always feel sorry for the poor worms, too, and I nudge them back onto the grass whenever I can. I don't understand why they don't crawl back on their own, though. I guess worm brains are pretty small. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the "worm buffet" image.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I loved your poem! It made me smile. What didn't make me smile is that we experienced the same thing here, as well. Poor little buggers :(
ReplyDeleteLove it Jenny. Made me chuckle and I could just visualise those dried up worms. I bet the worms loved them and consider the 'worm jerky' a real treat. :-)
ReplyDeleteDiane: Yes, you'd think that - even without any brains at all - the same instinct that drives them out of the flooded earth would drive them back toward it after the rain stopped, but ... nope.
ReplyDeleteJanie Junebug: I'm glad!
Martha: Yep ... it's hard to walk without stepping on one :)
Cherie: I dunno, there were an awful lot of worm carcasses still on the driveway a few days later :D
i loved the poem ,it stretched before the eyes of my imagination like a beautiful painting :)
ReplyDeletewith age my thinking deepens and when i think what if we are tiny insects sticking with circling round piece if rock ,what if clouds and rain is not what it looks like but something coming from bigger creations ,i think such way when i see the water i threw mindlessly was flood for ants crawling on the ground . this softens my heart more for tinier creatures .
i felt for worms but this is what this ,being part of nature we all have to go through this .
hugs and blessings
and yes my week was filled with guests and gusts of winds lol
baili: You're right - it's all part of nature, even when we feel sorry for living things, sometimes we can't do much - if anything - about it. My grandfather once asked my brother and I if we had ever thought that maybe the earth existed on the mantelpiece of some enormous being who liked to look at it now and then. The image always stuck with me :)
ReplyDeleteLoved all of the memes especially the color blind one. Thanks for the chuckles, jenny_o. I am glad you are recognizing your feelings and taking the steps to heal. Everyone griefs differently and you just have to do what works best for you. Be kind to yourself and take it one day at a time. Take care.
ReplyDelete