‘Twas the morning after the coldest frost (yeah, 12 below to be exact), when all through the house,
Not a menace was stirring, not even a Chubba;
The decoy boxes were placed in the foyer with care,
In hopes to keep the duo of destruction there (instead of by the tree);
The deer in the woods strutted out from their forest beds,
While visions of rabbits danced in the yard;
And Ma (Mrs.) with her camera, and Pa (aka, Mr.) off to work in his office,
Ma had settled by the window to capture the beauty of the frost,
When out on the corners of the house there arose such a clatter,
Tizzie sprang from the room to see what was the matter.
Away to the window, Mamma flew like a flash,
Tore open the blinds and steadied her pose.
The sunbeams on the fence aglow over the fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to little birdies below,
When what to her wondering eyes should appear,
Not one bird of cedar siding prey, but three my dear,
Three woodpeckers, so lively and quick,
Ma knew in a moment it was a Ma, Pa, and baby Nick or Vick (girl or boy, can’t tell at this age?!).
More rapid than eagles they flew from spot to spot,
Outside flew Mr. who whistled, and shouted, and called them not so nice names;
“Now, DASH! now, Flee! now, go away you VIXENs!
Off, the fence! Off the House! Off, the tea house dammit!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
But before the last dash, Pa gave a pose like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman –
Before they dashed away! dashed away! dashed away all!”
Vick or Nick plumped up like a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw her, in spite of myself;
A wink of her eye and a twist of her head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
She spoke not a word, but went straight to her work,
And giving a nod, up the teahouse she rose;
Soon to flee, as Mr. gave one last whistle to the three,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
Then the cinema commotion ended as Ma heard Mr. exclaim, “Are you ready yet? Let’s go to the winery – you said we’ve got gifts to buy.”
“Oh, my, yes, dear, I’m ready…”
Despite the excitement of watching silly little woodpeckers, we’re HAPPILY still trying to figure out what to buy for those hard-to-find-gifts-people on our list.
TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD Cheer – the tradition of giving a bottle of wine may it help us think of something dearer…
Post Inspiration – Winter In Wisconsin and Sunday Stills Traditions
PS – Do you have any pesky woodpeckers in your yard? Do you enjoy watching the formation of frost as the sunrises? What do you buy for your hard to shop for folks on your list?
Wow, that’s a lot colder than in Michigan where I’ve been for a few days. Stay warm Shelley!
Thanks, John – yeah, it got really cold, but supposedly warmer today! You too – stay warm!
Thanks! I’ll be back home in Las elate tonight. 🌵🌴🙏
That’s a wonderful take on “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and beautiful photos, Shelley. Good job on setting up the box traps for the fur kids. Works every time…except when there are birds! Birds, and especially noisy woodpeckers, trump the boxes.
At one time, I lived in a different apartment and there was this woodpecker who liked to cling to the side of the building where the bedroom was located and rat-a-tat-tat at inappropriate times of the day. The landlord patched the hole and attached a flag to the outside to keep him/her away. Unfortunately, the woodpecker had lots of building to work with, so not sure if he/she moved on or found someone else to annoy. 😉
Thank you, Mary – I appreciate your admiration for kitty decoy strategies. You’re right, birds always win! These pesky woodpeckers seem to find ways to occupy cat and Man (Mr.) throughout the year. From our family to yours, we wish you a delightful holiday cheer!
I had to come and look after your comment, this is lovely! It’s not all disrespectful and snarky like mine!
LOL – thank you, I appreciate you stopping by to check out my version. Your snarky take is delightful to me – I’m one to admire snarky brilliance!
I’m in the doghouse today. Snark is where it’s at!
LOL! Duck and run for cover!! 😉
How much fun was this, Shelley! I love the images, brrr, it looks cold! Rewriting the traditional poem is clever and fun! Thanks for linking up with Sunday Stills!
Thank you, Terri! I appreciate the opportunity to join in and your feedback means so much to me! Yes, it is cold here! But, will be 30 degrees later this week – a December heatwave!
That was so very precious. Gave me quite a chuckle. I see these woodpeckers as well but fortunately that don’t like my house and are satisfied with the sunflower seeds in the feeder.
Thank you, Anita, glad you enjoyed the post. We’ve been a favorite house for them since we built, they love cedar siding.
Nice photos, not so nice temperature!
Thank you, Marie – yes, it’s cold here! 😉
TWELVE BELOW!?! Oh, my it is cold where you live! Great photos of the downy woodpeckers. I’m surprised they didn’t freeze their little tailfeathers off!
LOL – yes, that cold!! Thank you, they were fun to watch. They didn’t appear to be too bothered by the cold. Surprised they found any bugs moving at all!
You’re very clever here Shelley and the pictures of the frost are amazing.
Thank you, Linda!