Haiku: Our Wilderness Friends

  Haiku: Our Wilderness Friends

Teeth inspection time

The dentist says, “Open wide.”

Easy for ‘gators

Saw one far away

A Yellowstone grizzly bear

It was close enough!

Ponds bring in wildlife

Saw two beavers at their pond

Then also, two moose

River otters play

Play near the bow of our canoe

On Isle Royale

Coyote crossing

In the meadow and the woods

Our front and back yards

We have “daily deer”

We’re one stop on their food run

They love our bird seed

They’re tiny squirrels

But they’re not as squirrely

They are called chipmunks

A giant elephant

In Nepal the males roam free

Except when they mate

Paddling our kayak

Paddling the Intracoastal

Paddled with dolphins

Those were killer whales

And not killer as in cool

But as in dead meat

In Olympic Park

Mountain goats showed us the trail

To the Park’s highest point

California coast

Seal with a trunk for a nose

An elephant seal

Elk were in the dunes

And also in the mountains

Diverse habitats

Our lone opossum

Tried to make our deck her home

Could not fit under

Antelope, buffalo

Saw many versions of horns

Then came the bighorn

Unusual sight

A bobcat during daytime

Hunting, not catching

Today’s paddling done

In our campsite, an odd sight

A fisher in a tree

On our Baja trip

Over the water, some birds?

No. they’re flying fish

Black shape approaches

Is it a very big dog?

No. it’s a black bear

Florida camp noisy

In the trees squirrels chatter

Looking for hand-outs

Whale dives under our boat

She raises her tail to us

We high-five her tail

 

Went to see more whales

Mexico, California

Saw more sea otters

Pretty snappy guy

Not in the cool, dressy sense

The snapping turtle sense

Mustangs, wild horses

Roaming the high plains out West

A rare sight for us

Pica lives out West

Guinea pig size, likes whistling

His odd claim to fame

Saw their fresh-made tracks

The wolves howling at the moon

Slept with one eye open

Snorkeled in the sea

Saw odd creatures like urchins

The Sea of Cortez

Florida’s Gulf coast

Paddled with the manatees

A sea grass grazer

Many buffalo

Buffalo in Yellowstone

One close to our campsite

Like a white-tail deer

But the mule deer has big ears

And a tail that’s black

You think he’s a beaver

But no, he’s just a muskrat

He builds lodges not dams

Hiking Isle Royale

Look left, see four odd tree trunks

Look up, yikes, a moose!

Paddling up North: mink!

They’re on shore in their mink coats

Didn’t cost them a dime

Small mammals, not dogs

Live in burrows on the prairie

So-called prairie dogs

Sleeping in a tent

Heard scratching on the canvas

Looked out: porcupine!

Rabbit long of leg

And especially long of ears

Jack rabbit of the West

A loon of the North

An icon of appearance

And of signature calls

A species of its own

Made for the plains, can run 70 mph

Named for its horns, pronghorn

A flash of red

A sudden stop as he brakes

Being squirelly, a red squirrel

An Old World species

A red face, green head, white neck

A ring-necked pheasant

A poisonous snake

Rattles as you approach

Thanks for the warning!

In spring males attract mates

Do so by displaying tail feathers

A turkey with a fan tail

In Nepal, as elsewhere

Rhinos have right-of-way

One passed us on a city street

A masked mammal, raccoon

He catches his prey and washes it

Trying to be human?

Another tent visitor

Outside, thankfully, not inside

The black and white one, skunk!

There are fox in our woods

Try in vain to catch birds and rabbits

Maybe they need to camo their red fur

Star fish in Pacific tide pools

If you must be a fish

You might as well be a star!

Passed a flock of Florida vultures

Patti warned them, “We’re not dead yet!”

Put in their place, they lurked, gazed

From our canoe, saw weasel

A carnivore along shore

At home near water

An unusual fellow

An armadillo, Florida resident

Only North American with a hard shell

A question: how much wood

Could a woodchuck chuck

If a woodchuck could chuck wood?