Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Welcome to the eve of Friday, friends! In other words, happy Thursday! As always, we will start today with the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge, hosted by our pals Angel Sammy and Teddy.

We have been having great fun with the new version of this poetic challenge, which involves our hosts giving us a photo prompt each week. The photo we were given for this week's poem is this one here:

I see the photo above and I think how wonderful it would be to write a poem expressing how tender and loving the relationship between a parent and a child can be. At the same time, though, I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty much rubbish when it comes to writing prose such as that. Profound and lyrical poetry is not something that I can do, it would seem.

My reading and writing habits have always been centered around far more obscure, whimsical, and eccentric tales. I was happily raised on stories smack dab in the genre of fantasy. What's more, that preference for fantasy did not change when I entered adulthood. I think that's why, when I see these wonderful photo prompts our hosts share with us, the deep and meaningful possibilities bail out the window. Instead, my mind tends to go rogue and things like pirates come out to play.

The Pirates of Puck

Once when I was but a young lad,

I stood by the seashore with my dad.

He told me the water told a great many tales,

And that on it sailed a great many sails.

"Have you ever heard of the Pirates of Puck?"

My father asked as overheard flew a duck.

I told him that I most certainly had not,

And so to my ears a great tale he brought.

Once from a land far, far away,

As my storytelling father did say,

Sailed a ship with a crew of plundering pirates.

They were fierce, skilled, and their loot often giant.

They were known as nothing but the Pirates of Puck,
And a great many thought them an omen of bad luck.

Stories claimed they were covered in shaggy fur,

And that on their boots they wore the sharpest of spurs.

Others said they boasted sharp fangs and sharper claws,

And that there was no loot on which they could not get their paws.

The Pirates of Puck sailed a plain and simple ship,

But it was said the mere sight of it would make your heart skip.

They were the source of a great deal of fear,

As it was said they would pillage all you held dear.

One day the Pirates of Puck sailed to a shore,

Where bankers and merchants their riches did store.

The Pirates of Puck took what they pleased,

Leaving the wealthy folk greatly aggrieved.

What happened next is quite often debated,

But there is one version of the tale that is often stated.

It is said that the Pirates of Puck sailed with their loot,

Until they reached the sad little Island of Moot.

The Island of Moot was not a grand land.

The island folk had nothing to their name but the sand.
The islanders were more than down on their luck.
But then arrived none other than the Pirates of Puck.

At first the islanders were greatly suspicious,

Until the Pirates of Puck handed them their newly gained riches.

The Pirates of Puck took from the wealthy,

And gave to the poor so that they could grow healthy.

Now the people of the Island of Moot are well and strong,

And they tell of the pirates' generous deed in a song.

And that is the tale of Pirates of Puck,

That my father did tell me by the sea at dusk.

"So the Pirates of Puck were really heroes at heart?"

I asked my father in hopes that insight he would impart.

"Some say yes and some say no,"

Was the answer my father did bestow.

And then he added with a wink,

"Tell me, son, what do you think?"

As always, I also felt compelled to create a little doodle to help illustrate that there poem on piracy. So, here is my version of the Pirates of Puck:

In case you were wondering, yes, my poems' illustrations will always star furry characters. This is of course because I love me some kitties and puppies. That, and drawing human beings is not my strong point.

All right, now it's time for Thimble! Today, Thimble wants to show you one of the gifts she got for Christmas.

This here human may or may not have had a hard time parting with that there Donut Kitty (purchased from the Etsy shop known as Miso Handmade) in order to gift it to Thimble on Christmas morning. But, I eventually managed it.

Thimble did not spare Donut Kitty one bit. He smelled of catnip and his little jingle bell taunted her one too many times, so she launched an assault.

Want to know a secret? Donut Kitty has been missing since not long after Christmas. He is almost certainly being held captive in the land Beneath the Couch. A rescue mission will soon be launched to return Donut Kitty to the light of day.

Thimble is entering her gratitude for all of her toys, like Donut Kitty, into Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

All of us here are also thankful for so much more. This time of year, we are thankful for the warmth of our home, and the warm food in our bellies. And it would not be Thankful Thursday without us letting you all know just how grateful we are for all of you friends of ours. Your friendship means so much to us!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Today is Milk Day (which we yet again know thanks to our trusty 2018 Blogging Cats Weekly Planner!). That being said, we're yet again repeating a past tip. Just like us humans, some cats and dogs are lactose intolerance. Especially as a furbaby ages and no longer consumes their mother's milk, their bodies may not produce lactase, which is the enzyme responsible for breaking down the milk sugar known as lactose. In such animals, products containing lactose are not digested properly, and so consuming lactose can result in issues such as upset stomach and diarrhea. So, do be cautious when feeding your furbabies milk and other foods high in lactose, especially if you know your furbaby does not digest it well. It might be worth it to know that some dairy products, such as plain yogurt and aged cheddar cheese, actually contain little to no lactose and so could potentially make safer options for small treats. Still, these should still only be fed in very small amounts and only as occasional treats, and only if your furbaby does not have adverse reactions. It's no fun having an upset stomach, so when in doubt, please do not feed it to your furbaby!