(Muskrat - photo by Neil Barker)
Noisily eating on shore: do not hurry, do not dawdle.
Listening for danger, but what are those growls and smacking sounds?
Wait: listen to hear them again, there are no sounds it was you.
I took this photo in early November 2023. I watched this muskrat swim to shore and take this flowering plant. The muskrat then sat and ate the stem and roots for a good 10 minutes. After finishing most of the plant, the muskrat then went back into the water and swam away.
Sijo Notes: In this sijo, I followed two formats: 15 syllables per line and a traditional form of:
Line 1 syllables: 3-4-4-4
Line 2 syllables: 3-4-4-4
Line 3 syllables: 3-5-4-3
Nature Notes:
During the winter a thick layer of ice restricts the muskrat to the interior of the lodge or burrow and the watery environment beneath the ice. The animal’s highly developed diving abilities and its use of push-ups become critical in procuring food under those conditions. It covers considerable distances under the ice searching for food. When the muskrat reaches a feeding area it chews off portions of plants and carries them to the nearest push-up, where it eats. This foraging activity under perhaps a metre of ice and snow, in ice-cold water and almost total darkness, is truly a remarkable feat.
Muskrat: Feeding (Hinterland Who’s Who)