The Christmas mouse and a pigeon named Commander on the path least traveled…

Diary of the journey on the path least traveled..

( “I do not do, say or write something to been seen or heard… I do, say or write something because it needed to be done, said or written…” , no nominations please, just sharing thoughts while exploring life 🙂 ).

I saw a mouse over the weekend and the incident brought a memory of when Bree were still here..

And Bree encountered a mouse while I were preparing a small turkey to put in the crock pot… I penned a few thoughts about the incident… 🙂

Including the Christmas mouse!

I was working on the turkey
When there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the kitchen
To see what was the matter.

I ventured to the living room
And there, to my surprise, I did see,
Standing nose to nose, paw to paw
Was the Christmas mouse and Bree.

With spatula in hand, ENOUGH, I yelled
With a voice loud and clear,
So that the Christmas mouse and Bree
Scattered, they did, in fear.

It was back to the kitchen and the turkey
No thoughts of sugar plums, dancing in my head,
But thoughts of a Thanksgiving TV dinner
Cooking in the microwave instead………

( Larry “Dutch” Woller )

Hello Diary,

Well, it is a Tuesday morning, definitely a wintry morning…

Ole Man Winter is here with an attitude… 🙂 will putter around today, get holiday cards ready to be mailed as I spent the weekend sorting, etc… thought I would take a break in the activities and share a few thoughts… were feeding the outdoor creatures and the birds and a memory occurred about a abandoned baby pigeon that I found while I were living on the farm…

School were out for the summer and I were checking out the barnyard, etc making sure all were in order… I ventured to the corncrib and on the floor of the building I saw a baby pigeon… I obtained the picture from the internet..

It had fallen from the nest, abandoned and obviously would not survive on its own… I took it to the house and use a small box to build a nest at put the nest in the large entry way to the house.. I did not know what to feed it, regular seed would not work so I took a slice of white bread and soaked it in warm milk… it were difficult to feed the little bird at first but over time it fell in love with the bread and ate heartily… it grew up to be a adult pigeon looking much like the one in the photo, again I obtained a picture from the internet…

I named the pigeon Commander and turned him loose to be free… well, Commander stayed around the barnyard, using the cupola on top of the corncrib as his home… I would leave a slice of bread in a safe location in the crib and Commander would also eat with the chickens… the chickens would peck at his head while eating and in time Commander didn’t have a feather on his head… 🙂 one day Dad and I were working in his shop getting plow shears ready for cultivating, etc and Dad decided to venture to the house to get a sandwich…

Well, Commander was on the cupola keeping a watchful eye out when Dad came out of the house with sandwich in hand… Commander seen the white bread and swooped down on Dad like a jet fighter, landed on his shoulder, started flapping his wings and screeching and while Dad were trying to shoo him away Dad dropped his sandwich, Commander dropped to the ground, grabbed a slice of bread and took off like he was shot out of a cannon… now I know that Dad would not hurt Commander but if looks could kill… 🙂

For a few days after the incident, I would continue to take bread out to the corncrib but I noticed that the bread had not been touched, nor have I seen Commander around the barnyard, did not know what happened to him… about a week after the incident, our neighbor, Mr. Uden, came over to have Dad work on his plow shears… while watching us work on his shears he spoke and said “ the strangest thing happened today as I were getting the shears ready to bring over… I went into the house to get a sandwich and when I came outside I was attacked by a bald headed pigeon who stole part of my sandwich and took off!”… Dad started laughing and told Mr. Uden about his experience with a bald headed pigeon… 🙂

I guess Commander decided it were time to move on, leave safe harbor and explore his domain.. Every once in awhile one would hear a story from someone about a bald headed pigeon who would practically take food from ones mouth, as long as it were white bread… I never did hear what eventually happened to Commander and like all else he soon became a memory… 🙂

I learned a lot about life while growing up on the farm… ever day were an adventure and I explored it, mainly left to my own devices and with sometimes strange results… perhaps the time I accidentally blew up Dad’s outhouse, or when Wee Willie ( the Shetland pony) chased a neighbor, or the time Dad almost broke his leg in the haymow while getting too close to the fort I had built… but those are another story to perhaps be told one day..:)

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.” T.S. Eliot

But, like Commander, I lived life and in 1963 I left the farm and followed a dream “The only thing that stands between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible.” – Joel Brown

Had the same idea as Jimmy Buffet..

Oh, the yesterdays are over my shoulder
So I can’t look back for too long
There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just can’t go wrong
(Jimmy Buffet)

Well, I had better close… have cards to prepare, dreams to follow, memories to make and believe there may even be a rainbow out there somewhere….busy, busy, busy… 🙂 but I shall return again one day, Fate be willin’ and the creeks don’t rise…

Diary, do you suppose this could happen to Santa in today’s society… 🙂

‘Twas the night before Christmas and I’d gone to bed late
Lord only knows how much fruitcake I ate…

Chorus; Christmas Eve I dreamed that Santa was arrested
Well they handcuffed him and they hauled him off to jail
Christmas Eve I dreamed that Santa was arrested
For crimes so bad they held him without bail

“Cruelty to Reindeer” was the first charge that they read
“We got there just in time your Honor
He had nine of them hitched to a heavy sleigh
And abuse is indicated ones got a nose that’s awfully red
And the prosecution had only just begun
OSHA closed his workshop down for safety violations
And there product liability claims for every toy built since creation
We found out he hires only Elf’s and of course that’s discrimination
He’ll be put away for life before we’re done
That sled is not air worthy
The FAA won’t certify
He’s over sixty with corrected vision therefore he should not fly”
Why this could be the trail of the century
There’s over ten billion instances of unlawful entry

Chorus

“Why just look at him there your honor
He doesn’t shave or cut his hair
And he grossly overweight and he only works one day a year
Now we all know he smokes tobacca
And they’s fur on that suit he wears
We must protect our kids from men like this”

“Order, or, order in the court” said the judge
“I’ve heard enough about his crimes
And clearly this is a man who’s out of step with modern times
But one of those houses he so often entered unlawfully was mine
And therefore all charges are dismissed!”

Oh, I woke up to the sound of Ho, Ho, Hoin’ (ho ho ho ho ho ho…)
Reindeer hoofs upon my roof and it was snowing
And as I watch him fly away it was good knowing
That some things that are politically incorrect can still be right
So Merry Christmas to all and to all A Merry Christmas Eve goodnight
It must have been the Maraschino cherries