Two surprises arrived last week: an early snow storm and a ring-necked pheasant. We have never seen a pheasant in our yard, so his presence was quite thrilling. His sudden appearance was explained when I found out that a local landowner had stocked his property with 100 birds. This is a common practice in our area, and these gorgeous birds may have wandered onto our property in the past, but I was too busy to notice.
dressed for dinner
a pheasant feasts on seeds
scattered on snow
© Catherine Flynn, 2018
I hope you all had a joyous Thanksgiving feast. I am forever grateful for this generous, nurturing community of poets. Thank you for all your friendship and support! Please be sure to visit Irene Latham, one of the kindest people I know, at Live Your Poem, for the Poetry Friday Roundup!
Reading to the Core 
How excited to have a pheasant come to call! I love your line “dressed for dinner.” I have my fingers crossed that evening grosbeaks will visit us –they are present in large numbers this year but to date, they haven’t made an appearance at our feeders. Here’s wishing you many more delightful surprises through this holiday season and into the new year!
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WOW! That’s a sighting I’m pretty sure we will never have at our totally urban feeders. We’ll make do with the skunks and possums! Way cool!
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Oh, I love dressed for dinner. I may have to use that line somewhere in my writing….but it’s especially great in this. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
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Dressed for dinner! I love that. And love, too, that this was a moment you were able to witness and share with all of us. (We see so much wildlife at our new home… one stunning recurring thought I have is that this/they have been here all that time we lived in the suburbs and weren’t here to notice… it’s kind of a humbling thought and makes me aware of the preciousness of how we choose to spend our moments.) Thank you! xo
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How exciting to see a pheasant dressed for dinner on snow! And to capture in photo and poem. I hope your holiday was wonderful!
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Thanks for letting us share in your visit from a pheasant! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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I saw your picture earlier & it must have been a wonderful surprise. Now your “dressed for dinner” is an equal surprise, Catherine, perhaps a double-meaning? Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. Thank you!
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Simply delightful!
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What a lovely haiku! Thank you!
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Lovely haiku. I wonder why he stocks his farm…hopefully not for hunters.
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Unfortunately, I think that was the reason.
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Love “dressed for dinner”!
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Fun siting, and you captured it well in your haiku Catherine–perhaps this one will last a bit longer…
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