June 1, 2016

Forest Friends - Poem / Photos taken when living in a forest with forest animals

Golden and a deer of the Kaibab Forest
ground squirrel Kaibab Forest friend eating cantaloupe seeds
Ground squirrel eats organic spelt berries from my hand
Kaibab Forest chipmunk and ground squirrel eating from my hand
Forest Friends

Ground squirrels and chipmunks abound,
Conversing by a clicking sound.
Their little eyes and my eyes meet
They ask me for something to eat.
They reach and grab a seed from me,
and eat it so adorably!
They grab some more and stuff their cheeks
with surplus for the coming weeks.
With cheeks like pouches that stretch wide,
They dash with their seed stash, to hide,
to store in holes for the winter,
A skillful stretcher and sprinter,
These animated gymnastic gems...
stand tall and pull Lupine stems.

Butterflies hand feeding a deer -  the Kaibab Forest
A wild deer approaches near,
Lets me pet her from head to rear!
By hand, I share the rinds of fruit
She seems to have a mind, astute
She knows exactly whom to trust
Our daily visits are a must.
A porcupine climbing a tree,
stops to get acquainted with me.
And even though he has sharp quills,
It’s 'gentleness' that he instills.
Then I see birds that fly with flair
Hummingbirds suspended in air!
They glide with ease from tree to tree
It’s really quite a sight to see.


The cutest cottontail, so shy,
freezes in fear and then darts by.
The fastest, fluffy, furry ball;
Softest and sweetest friend of all.
Running around my tent-made house;
A cross between rabbit and mouse!
The tent was set right near some holes...
belonging to a pair of voles.
They run around, helter-skelter,
Then quickly run back to shelter.

A ground squirrel found my avocado
In the woods we live together,
Peaceful friends of fur and feather,
Sharing life harmoniously,
My forest friends speak through me:
“Save our home and treat us with care,
Earth is the planet we all share!”
A joy; on which my soul depends
is sharing the forest with these FRIENDS.

by Butterflies
Long-term vegan; animal rights advocate


(Ironically, their home, the part of the Kaibab forest that
we lived in, was devastated by a preventable forest fire
that the "forest management people" chose not to put out
and it burned down their home and ours.
 Light and Braveheart / Kaibab Forest




1 comment:

Unknown said...

So sorry about the fire 😢