Animals

Oh baby it’s cold outside

January 30, 2026 By Annette1 8 Comments

-19 it said on my thermometer this morning. That’s Celcius for you non-Canadian folk. So a touch chilly. As I came back inside shivering I sang to my hubby “oh baby it’s cold outside”. He agreed and then said “I don’t think I’m going to work again today. I’m still not feeling well.” This cold is kicking his butt and making me feel miserable. Unlike him, I don’t get paid if I don’t go to work, he does. So off to work I went! 🙂

Oh baby it’s cold outside

Oh baby it’s cold outside,
and has been so for the past
two weeks. A cold that reaches down
into your bones and makes a
body shiver quickly.

It brings to life this line
from a book I recently finished,
helping me picture it well.
“She’s as sane as running
stark naked in an ice storm.”

Can you imagine how absolutely
freezing that would be? Naked?
No protection. In a cold as brutal
as these past two weeks have been?

Gives me a new line to say when
people are acting a tad insane. 🙂

Anyways, I have three piggies
that are heavily pregnant.
Wee piggies don’t do well
in extreme cold, so in the house they came.

piggies in the house

Two weeks they’ve been in
and I started threatening to
throw them outside again… and the next
day… BABIES!!!!

Two ladies had six babies between them.
Babies safe from the cold, but
not safe from genetic defect.

Brandi’s youngsters have
something not quite right
with them. So far only one of them
has a bit of a chance but not a
great one unfortunately. In the cold
it would have perished already. So
I’m glad it has a fighting chance.

But Rilla’s singleton is
running around and just starting
to make the characteristic wheek.
So I think that five day “see how
they do” will pass quickly for him.

mystery to unravel

I love having strong healthy
babies, but enjoy the mystery of
trying to understand genetic
issues and exactly what the problem
is so I can prevent it in the future.

I can’t repeat the breeding, but
I can monitor the other sow bred
to the same boar. Hopefully
her youngsters will be strong
and healthy. And then I can hopefully
find an unrelated boar and see how
mom does with him. Help me track
down where the genetic issue lies.

And to think that if it weren’t so
very cold outside I would have
taken an educated chance and let
the ladies pup outside in their safe
and fairly warm housing. I would have
assumed that death happened from some
odd reason, or small kits due to large
litter size and not realized the
genetic situation.

Again, God at work.
Helping me know I have
some problem solving to do.
A genetic mystery to unravel,
for the benefit of my piggies.

image: genetic code
text: oh baby it's cold outside

Where are the Penguins?

November 22, 2025 By Annette1 2 Comments

Today I worked on tidying things up in the house. I worked to compact my “yard sale” area. Seeking to move yet more stuff into the pile as I reduce the amount of stuff we have in the house. It’s a process. But I’ve got a burn in the back of my brain to get the kitchen back in order so moving stuff is important. 🙂 ALL this to say, I had no time in my day to look up Andrew’s word prompt… which is Penguins! That question I’m sure that is burning in all your minds is where are the penguins? Did I find them as I moved things around?

Where are the Penguins?

I checked the office shelves
pulling off bunny figures,
removing packs of cards, and
even shelving books.

Wondering through the fantasy books,
I noted the ceramic puppies,
now some 35 years old,
but where are the penguins?
NOT HERE!

Going through the games,
I saw squirrels and bears,
Camelot in battle, The
risk of global domination, and
dicey situations.

But alas, no penguins.
Homeschooling no longer,
books have to go!
Puffins, WW2, the human body,
wolves, and math galore.
I’m fearing the penguins
are no more!

I wandered back to the office,
needing to take a break.
Considering my long term plans
for fun when the work is done.

Beginning the work of
planning out my zoo.
Imagine my delight when I see…
Lego penguins! Black and white,
little cuties from Temu.
Penguins waiting for
water, ice, and snow!

Considering the More

I’ve had cause lately to be asking the question… where are my penguins? Okay, bear with me a bit eh?

Penguins was the word for the day, the one important thing to consider, and I couldn’t find them until I actually went looking for them. I found my penguins in my lego, right where they were supposed to be. What other things do I miss if I’m not looking for them specifically? God says, those who seek him find him. So, how do I go about seeking him? Will I find him where I expect? Within the pages of a his book? In the music I listen to? How about in the books I read? In the studies I do like Unexplainable Jesus? Do I keep my eyes open and my heart soft to him?

Where do you find him when you go seeking?

But I don’t have a farm

February 16, 2025 By Annette1 10 Comments

Hmm… what does one do with a three letter word such as but. This is a tough one for me and I’m not really sure what I’ll come up with. I guess I’ll let my fingers do their talking and then come back to this intro and reword as necessary eh? 🙂 And my fingers did their talking and we came up with But I don’t have a farm. A bit of a fun glimpse into part of who I am. 🙂

But I don’t have a farm

A surprise happened.
My sweet feller got me a valentine’s present
Me….

I shouldn’t be surprised
He loves me dearly
but we don’t exchange presents

Not for made up commercial holidays
and just the basics for other
times of celebration throughout the year.

So a present
It shocked me a bit
and then I hugged him

with just a bit of exuberance
and a lot of delight
and he grinned.

I apologized for getting
him nothing, and he said
“ah well, not like we planned it”.

but he surprised me
with a chicken blanket
which is currently warming me.

If you don’t know me well,
know that I have this minor love
affair with chickens.

I have figurines, pictures,
mugs, etc. all sporting
a chicken theme.

If I had a farm, I would
have chickens in abundance.
Banties and some laying hens.

I would show them, and fuss over
them, and talk chickens all day
like I do with my bunnies. 🙂

BUT I don’t have a farm
I have a large backyard
with room for bunnies and cavies.

AND if I get it all figured
some quail, the big ones, as
they are quiet and small.

Easier to manage in some ways
than chickens are, and yet…
giving me a chicken feel.

and my heart will be happy! 🙂

chicken themed blanket wrapped around a middle aged lady

This Word Usually

August 25, 2024 By Annette1 2 Comments

This word usually came to life at the end of a long day. Started early, filled with conversation and good work, and a plan to remove a threat. I almost forgot too! But fortunately a low growl hiss reminded me of this threat’s presence. It wasn’t a bad day and I’m glad it happened. It gave me a chance to reach a response to Kate’s prompt.

This Word Usually

How does one do it,
define a word like
usually, weaving words to
bring to life a common place expression.

So often word prompts
given, spark an immediate response
or at least some threads of
thought that take some mulling over
to properly produce themselves into
poetry or prose.

But exceptions to the “so often’s”
happen, so with this word
usually, struggles abound!

Usually my day is very routine
Arising at 615, caring for bunnies
and other critters, going to my job,
caring for critters again, supper,
conversation with hubby, son and
occasionally son’s gal, then bed.

Atypically though, variations in
routine happen, like tonight
taking a possum for a long
car ride to a forest teeming
with possibilities.

This, too, is part
of a routine, when wild ones
threaten the safety of
bunnies, piggies, and mice.
A trap, a trip, and then release.

Tonight though, when releasing,
I thought, perhaps I should have
had my neighbour provide a final
end. This possum, as I fought to
release her, I saw had a LOT of
noticeable physical damage to her.

Mind, I couldn’t assess her
lack of clear ability to walk while
she huddled in a trap,
but the lump on her jaw, the
mostly missing tail, and
various missing bits (that truly
had healed over).

My heart is still disquieted.
Wishing I had seen before she
was gone, thinking a wildlife
refuge may have been an answer
as well.

But possums, I don’t know, that
they are rescue-able.

I need to console myself with the
thought that she has a better chance
out in a forest on the end of a cornfield
then she does navigating the
streets of small town Ontario
with large dogs surrounding that
see possums as munchable invaders of
their turf.

An Absence Was Noted

September 3, 2023 By Annette1 14 Comments

So this past week we went away, camping for a week. I had a couple of sitters. One for morning and evening chores and one for kitten and baby bunny duty. I was a bit worried about leaving since our little Miss Ivy is scared of strangers. I knew that of all our cats she would be the one to say “an absence was noted”. Stranger danger is a real thing for her, and she’s still young and lacking in mass so I wanted her minded well while we were gone.

It’s was so funny to watch (or rather hear) through our kitten-sitter the progress that Miss Ivy made. And as I sit here watching a movie, I though of how my boy matures when he’s away from his folks. When others depend on him, or when he has to depend upon himself, he matures in ways, sometimes unexpected.

An Absence Was Noted

Last week an absence
was noted.
A shy kitten running
on high alert.
Stranger danger!!!!!!
Must hide!!!

A kitten sitter called
“I can’t feed your kitten
She’s nowhere to be found!”

Problem-solving commenced.
Place some kibble under
beds and the sofa.
She’s the only one who
fits under such things.

Careful placement of some
kibble, and a kitten was
fed. Happiness!

A phone call made
“You’ll never guess!
Ivy let me see her!!
She let me pet her!!!”

My absence, while still noted
seemed to bother the
youngest member of our
household less.

To my shock
she even allowed
ear rubs, and did
head thumps!
Could this be our
little Ivy???
Could she really be
that brave?

It’s good to be shocked
and to realize that
braveness can happen
when those you know are away.

What God has to say

Deuteronomy 31:6-7

Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.

Psalm 31:24

Be strong and let your heart take courage,

All you who hope in the Lord.

Hebrews 13:5b-6

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

When We All Get Together

December 28, 2022 By Annette1 4 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (When We All Get Together) through Jenkins Group Inc. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated.

Guess what I get to review today!!!!! A lovely little picture book by a fellow Canadian… who ALSO lives right here in Ontario. Heather Bradley introduces us to Canadian animals as she teaches us collective nouns. I can’t wait to give you a glimpse inside!

When we all get together - heather bradley

The Basic Details

Title: When we all get together
Author: Heather Bradley
Publisher: Friesen Press
Winner: animal non-fiction category – moonbeam children’s book awards
Pages: 44
Intended Audience: children
Style: picture book
Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, paperback
Reviewed for: Jenkins Group Inc.
Received: paperback

About the Author:

Three dogs and several bird feeders round out the household of Heather Bradley as she resides in Lindsay, Ontario. This retired elementary teacher, who also worked with the Ontario Science Centre, loves sharing her passion for nature with children.

About When we all get Together

From a mischief of mice to a loveliness of ladybugs, groups of creatures have beautiful, descriptive names. Join the Canadian wildlife in the maple tree forest. They’re all gathering together one by one—until unwanted pests arrive!

Digging Deeper into When We All Get Together

Groups of animals on a variety of backgrounds fill the pages. I love how the animals are NOT decked out in colourful costumes, but rather appear as they would in the wild. Natural surroundings are included in each image as well.

Spend some time learning collective nouns. Can you believe that a group of bears is called a sleuth?!?! What an odd term don’t you think? Makes me think of a bunch of detectives running around trying to solve the local animal problems. 🙂 Can you see the fun children might have?

Wolverines, Moose, Raccoons and more. Can you guess what a group of them could be called? And why would you call them that? Why would a group of chipmunks be called a scurry? (perhaps from how they behave one might think?)

Did you know a group of cats is called a clowder? Well, part of my small clowder was very curious about this book! 🙂 Figured you all ought to meet little Benji!

Add to your shelves?

Learning collective nouns in a fun way. It’s a good thing that! I love that the pages don’t vary where the text is. This makes it very easy to cover up the text and have your children (or students) guess what the animal is and perhaps figure out what a group of them is. It would be so easy to turn Heather Bradley’s book, When we All Get Together, into a group activity, a matching game, or spelling lesson.

But even without the teaching aspect, it’s just an excellent little book about animals. The fact that you learn about the collective nouns for each doesn’t diminish the fun illustrations. And it’s so nice to see different Canadian animals don’t you think?

I love the versatility offered in “When we all Get Together” and I think you will too!

The Whale Who Swam Through Time

July 6, 2022 By Annette1 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product (The Whale Who Swam Through Time) through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and is so much appreciated.

Do you have an interest in understanding the lives of whales? Then I urge you to check out this lovely picture book by Alex Boersma. The Whale Who Swam Through Time walks us through the life of a bowhead whale and her 200 years of life. Swim through the waters and watch how the world changes from her perspective and gain a deeper insight into what whales need.

The Whale Who Swam Through Time in a nutshell

Through 48 pages the reader is brought through a 200 year journey alongside a bowhead whale. We get to read this story in a book published by Roaring Brook Press entitled The Whale who Swam through Time: a 200 year journey in the Artic. A picture book geared for children 4-8 years old, it’s suitable for people of all ages who just want to learn a bit more about whales.

The copy I received from Raincoast books is a hardcover with a dust cover. This time-traveling book was written by Alex Boersma and Nick Pyenson. Alex Boersma also provided the illustrations.

Taking a Closer Look

Start with the birth of one bowhead whale. Then follow her as she moves through time, through her life, with pages illustrated boldly with her life.

You’ll discover boats with adventurers and hunters, and watch her break through the ice and have her dinner. Even watching her dive deep with her mom away from danger, and give birth to her own child.

There is so much more to discover within the pages of blue and white. So much life and potential danger, will she survive? With an easy-to-read text for reading with a child at your side.

I was so pleased to see the information provided at the close of the book, filling in the cracks that the pictures and text merely highlighted.

Add it to your shelves?

Homeschoolers studying whales, or teachers in a classroom should add this to their book list. It is so interesting to watch this whale and her life and how the world around her changed. These changes added new challenges to her life and her offspring.

Alex Boersma did a great job of bringing The Whale Who Swam through Time to life. All those blues of the ocean, along with the bright colours of the boats, sea life, and nature. Just a lovely book to page through indeed. Loads of talking points to help children develop their observational and story telling skills. A well-illustrated book helps with this so much.

Animals

Oh baby it’s cold outside

Oh baby it’s cold outside

piggies in the house

mystery to unravel

Where are the Penguins?

Where are the Penguins?

Considering the More

But I don’t have a farm

But I don’t have a farm

This Word Usually

This Word Usually

An Absence Was Noted

An Absence Was Noted