Squirrel 1, Azalea 0

It’s been a very warm week. We’ve broken records and hit 9000°F. I’m sorry, it only feels like 9000° but it’s been 88°. Everything is blooming and it shouldn’t be. Not quite yet. We’re dropping down into the 30s again next week so I will likely be covering everything that’s starting to bloom that shouldn’t be. Sigh.

Speaking of blooming, the azaleas are in full bloom, and the squirrel teenagers are in full zoom. And I mean zoomies. The squirrels have been splooting – the term for what they do when they lie on their bellies to try to cool off – and they have been doing this:

Menace 2 Society

Sploot happens:

I brought out the ground level birdbaths and the hose, so now we have three functioning birdbaths/refreshing water sources. Yesterday, the mourning doves couldn’t figure out how to all get into the same birdbath at the same time, which is not surprising because mourning doves share one brain cell. They are beautiful birds, and they are very fast in flight, but they are afraid of me on foot, but not afraid of cars. They often walk to their destination, even though they have wings. And when they look at you, it gives you a feeling of the most beautiful creature with not much going on behind the scenes, if you know what I mean. Anyway, while the doves were trying to figure out how to all fit into the birdbath, a sparrow showed up. Sparrows are not shy, and it came in for a landing. The MoDo’s were not impressed. This was their reaction:

👁️👁️ 👁️👁️ 👁️👁️ 👁️👁️

It was really awkward. I, of course, recorded the whole thing and could not contain my laughter.

Sparrow: “HEY, YA’LL! 🤠” MoDo: “Darlene, is that a sparrow? Tell me that is not a sparrow sitting right there next to us?!“ 🧐

These are two couples (not seen: Daryl, who made an early exit after being pecked by Dave.) Doves mate for life, so tensions were already brewing between the two couples and the fact that they couldn’t figure out how to all fit into the birdbath without ruffling feathers. I mean that figuratively and literally. One of the doves got too close to the other dove and got pecked. This caused an indignant, awkward hop out of the birdbath as one couple *had* to leave. And then the sparrow showed up. It was utter chaos.

It’s Saturday morning as I’m writing this, and don’t for a second think that the birds and the squirrels don’t know that I’m already awake in here. I’ve been sleeping with the windows open, which is necessary because I don’t have air-conditioning at the moment and it has been very hot. I would also like to point out the trees are pollinating and all of the yellow stuff you see on your car is now in my nose and eyes when I wake in the morning. But the birds and the squirrels don’t care about any of that. They just know that I’m awake and that I should be refilling the fuel sources and the watering holes, and they will come knocking if I’m late.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Hello, can you spare a morsel? Also, umm, i think maybe…you’re a little late…

p.s. still obsessed with the Bleeding Heart

bees · blog · blogging · Humor · non-fiction · squirrels · YouTube

My YouTube Channel

Featured Amy17 Comments

Some of you may know I recently started creating videos for my YouTube channel. If you read my last post, you’ll see a video I posted to my YouTube channel that unfortunately was pilfered by someone else and that someone else got way more likes than I did. Sigh.

This made me very sad and I made private most of my videos for about a week and a half. Today I decided that I would not only continue posting videos, but I would make public the videos that I had made private.

I really like to share my love of animals, and if someone steals my content to make it theirs, well, isn’t that flattery? I’m not making money off of my channel, and I’m not posting videos to do that. I want to spread a little silly joy.

For instance, today I chased down a honeybee. It was very cold this morning and was not very warm this afternoon, but I found the first honeybee of the season gathering pollen in the Hyacinth. Poor girl. But so it begins. Approximately eight months of me chasing after bees, butterflies, and any other flying creature, quite frankly. I got it on video and I posted it. I also posted a squirrel video because the squirrels are so silly and make me laugh every day.

Maybe other people need to laugh every day too.

If you want to check out my YouTube channel, you are welcome to do so. There is no obligation.

Click here to go to my YouTube channel

Happy Sunday, everyone!

©️2026, itsamyisaid.com

blog · Eastern Redbud tree · Fall · I love trees · Photography · poems · poetry · prose · Trees · Writing

One Last Time

Featured Amy8 Comments

Thank you for the gift

Of two more blooms

Off-season

Much too soon

But also too late

Much too late

From dead bark

Arises life

One last time

ERJ, my eastern redbud that I’ve written about multiple times on my blog, has been slowly dying all summer and now into the fall. Strangely, he had the most beautiful blooms this year he’s ever had. This past spring, I mean. He’s got borers. They did their damage. I tried everything, but I couldn’t save him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to, but I tried anyway. The loss of this tree really hurts. Some parts of his branches are still pliable, but most are brittle. The bark now splitting from lack of life. But I noticed today a bright spot of pink. And then another. Arising from the broken, cracked bark and perched alongside seedpods as brittle as dead leaves, ERJ blooms one last time.

blog · butterfly · Grief · Love · Monarch butterfly · Nature · Nature photography · poetry · prose · Writing

Regina I

Featured Amy17 Comments

Butterflies don’t have norireceptors

They can’t feel pain

At least that’s what they say

They also don’t recognize human voices

Well, that’s what they say

I’ve only seen three this year

The most royal of all of the butterflies

I’m a finder of lost things and valuables that belong to others

And animals that are lost or hurt

I found her struggling on the sidewalk

I halted my walk in more ways than one

Scooped her up in my hands, and she desperately tried to fly

She had no visible injuries

Not to my eyes

I took her to my neighbor’s where I thought she might find some blooms

I offered her water from my tiny bottle cap

She did lap it up and for a moment, and I thought that was that

But she still could not fly

Even though she desperately tried

So I brought her home in a shoebox with some flowers

But that’s not the part I really want to talk about

I want to tell you how she recognized my voice and how her antennae responded when I talked to her kindly

I want to tell you she was perfect with not a spot on her to explain why she was dying

I pet her little body and talked to her sweetly

I told her she was beautiful, and although she couldn’t get to her destination

She would stay here with me

I hoped for a miracle overnight, but I knew better

At first light, I checked her shoe box and she was nearly dead, so weak she was, ants were crawling on her

I brought her in the house and showed her all the plants

I told her I loved her and would take care of her

I put her in a plastic bag and placed it in the freezer

(This is how to humanely euthanize butterflies when they are already dying)

I took her out twenty four hours later and laid her on the table. She looked the same, but her body wasn’t contorted anymore. Her antenna relaxed to a normal position rather than contracted in a sort of grimace

They say butterflies don’t feel pain. I don’t believe them.

I want to know why a beautiful, gentle creature meant to migrate thousands of miles only flew a few feet before starting to die

And other malevolent beings are granted the gift of a lengthy, destructive life

I want to know why

blog

Late Summer

Featured Amy14 Comments

Hey everyone, it’s really hard to put into words how beautiful the wildflowers have been. And it’s almost a disservice to talk about them when they could be shown. Forgive me, I’ve left off the monarch butterfly and the hummingbird. I will need to make another video to showcase them.

I hope you enjoy this video and that wherever you are, you’re having a great weekend.

p.s. my categories selection isn’t working after some type of update, so if you never see this, I won’t be surprised. Thanks, WordPress.