HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY

I knew a groundhog
his name was Phil
on February 2 
he trudged up a hill.

He looked around
to have some fun;
he couldn't find
the shining sun.

And as his brow
began to furrow
Phil walked home
to his cold burrow.


     I grew up in the desert and so I'd never seen a groundhog or a prairie dog until I was older.  I had been told, or somehow I got the idea that the two animals were very similar.  (They both lived in burrows under the ground.)  I later saw the animals in a zoo.  this reflection got me to thinking about my first trip to the zoo.  Where is the closest zoo to where you live?  Can you write a zoo poem today?

LITTLE SQUIRREL

Little squirrel racing by,
with your tail flying high,
when you dash into your burrow
will I see you run tomorrow?


   I saw a little squirrel race around a creosote bush this morning.  It always surprises me when I see one.  Squirrels in the dessert are ground rodents.  There aren't a lot of trees to climb here.  Our squirrels are about the size of a chipmunk and they burrow in the ground.  
Originally I wrote this poem about the squirrel racing with an acorn in his mouth, but as I read it, I knew that wasn't right.  There aren't any oak trees around here for the squirrels to steal acorns from so I had to re-write the ending to my poem.  And, I've never had a squirrel stealing bird seed from my bird feeder in Tucson because they can't get to the feeder.  There aren't trees to leap from to get to the feeder.  So, what kind of squirrels are there where you live?  Can you write your own squirrel poem today?  Do you know what it means when someone is described as a little squirrely?  Have fun working on your poem today.