Willows, Weasels, and Windows

Happy Thursday, friends! Are you ready for some rhyming? We sure are. After all, we always have fun participating in Angel Sammy and Teddy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge.

Each week, our wonderful hosts share with us an image to assist us in our rhyming endeavors. For this week's poem, they offered up this fantastically fantastical image:

I adore this magical picture. As I've mentioned before, I am a huge fan of all things fantasy. That's probably why this stunning image reminded of both the temperamental Whomping Willow tree in the Harry Potter series, as well as the magical land of Narnia and its animal inhabitants.

What's more, the thought of that Whomping Willow in Harry Potter brought to mind a little town of which I know. Before he passed away, my grandfather lived in a tiny town. In order to visit him, we had to drive through a number of other tiny towns, one of them being Willow Hill. I always remember being in awe of how tiny Willow Hill was. It always took only a matter of 1 or 2 minutes to pass through the entirety of Willow Hill, and its population was so small that we'd often drive through without spotting a single inhabitant.

Want to know a strange fact? We had to pass through so many small towns to visit my grandfather, that when we were young, my sister and I often couldn't tell all of the little towns apart. Willow Hill, though, we would always know. The reason for this is that Willow Hill had a little, vacated, rundown bank building with a window adorned with none other than a bullet hole. We always wondered when and how the bullet hole had gotten there, but never did find out.

Anyway, that was yet another long-winded discourse leading up to yet another of my long-winded rhymes. This particular poem was inspired by all sorts of random bits and bobs, and so it's all sorts of randomness itself. I hope you don't mind.

Welcome to Willow Hill

Daisy did not wish to move.

That, to her parents, she tried to prove.

Her efforts simply fell short, though,

And so she packed her things and prepared to go.

In the back seat she watched the world go by.

At her situation, Daisy could not help but sigh.

She had left her home and friends behind.

About that she was angry, she could not deny.

For hours and hours they did drive,

Until at their destination they finally arrived.

Daisy knew that their travels would now still,

When they passed a sign that ready, Welcome to Willow Hill!

And so Willow Hill was Daisy's new home,

Which was a fact that made her cry and moan.

After all, the little town was smaller than small.

The population was 200, that was all.

Unhappy and unpacked,

Daisy decided to see if this town was worth jack.

She figured the answer to that would be no,
And that perusing the town would only bring her more woe.

Daisy was really not the least bit impressed.
Willow Hill had her feeling really quite depressed.
The tiny town had but one tiny store,
And even that was such a bore.
Also but one restaurant was there.
The lack of entertainment Daisy simply could not bear.

She had lost all hope, Daisy had,
And was feeling both sad and mad.
She began to make her way back to her new home,
For no longer could she bear to roam.

Then, as she plodded along,
Daisy suddenly heard a song.
It reached her ears in the form of a whistle,
And its beauty made the hairs on her neck bristle.

Daisy wished to find the song's source,
And so she looked around in full force.
Finally, she turned and saw a willow tree upon a hill,
And from that tree was coming that trill.

Making her way to the tree,
A big black bird Daisy did see.
It rested upon a leafy limb,
And when Daisy approached, it stopped its hymn.

"Please, don't stop singing," Daisy said,
To which the bird seemed to bow its head.
It whistled one more sweet note,
And then from its beak did float,
"You find our little town quite boring.
Out of you sadness seems to be pouring."

Daisy was at a loss for words.
After all, she had never before met a talking bird.
She had heard of parrots speaking phrases,
But this one here was but a raven.

Seeing that Daisy had no reply,
The talking raven did cry,
"Willow Hill is far from boring.
See for yourself that it is no place for snoring."

Then and there something incredible occurred,
As if spurred by the words spoken by the bird.
The willow tree's trunk began to transform,
And then upon its trunk appeared a door!

The door was red and swung right open,
So that out streamed a light ever so golden.

A figure appeared within that light,
And Daisy was not sure whether she should feel fright.
But it did not seem that fear was a valid response,
Since the figure in the door had whiskers and paws.

The feline that emerged was big, orange, and striped.
Her current feelings Daisy could not quite describe.
This became even more truer than true,
When the cat told her, "I have something to show you."

The cat then turned and walked back through the door,
Leaving Daisy to wonder what might be in store.
Daisy at first thought following along to be unwise,
Until she decided to see what was next with her very own eyes.

And so, into the willow on the hill Daisy did enter.
Before long, she knew that was her best decision ever.
After all, inside the tree was a world of its own.
This was something that to Daisy would soon be known.

The first place they stopped was just beyond the red door.
It was a cozy abode with colorful walls and a vibrant floor.
"My name is Fergus," the cat finally said.
"This is my home. Do you need fed?"
Daisy could find no words but nodded her head.
She realized she had eaten nothing since rising from bed.

Fergus the cat led her out of his home,
And into the street together they did roam.
Before long, they passed a giant sign.
Welcome to Willow Hill, upon it was written in letters quite fine.
After that, Daisy simply could not believe her eyes.
This Willow Hill was stunning from the ground to the skies!

Lights streamed out of countless cottages and shops.
Daisy's gaze bounced around like a bunny that hops.
There was just simply so much to see,
In this land within that great willow tree.

Happy trees and flowers and animals did abound,
And to Daisy's ears floated a beautiful sound.
When she found its source she was rendered quite speechless,
For it came from a band of mice, cats, and even a Vizsla.

On the other side of the magical willow tree,
There was only one measly place to eat.
Here, though, diners and bakeries numbered at least twenty-three!
Into a deliciously scented joint Fergus led Daisy,
Where, from a great big hound, she ordered a burger and a pastry.
Daisy had never tasted food so divine,
And she was hesitant to leave this scrumptious place behind.

But Fergus had far more to show her on their journey,
And so, with him leading the way, Daisy did scurry.
Into a grand library was where they headed next.
Daisy could not believe the amount of texts.
Books, books, and more books there were!
There were so many books that they started to blur.
And when Daisy opened one to read its phrases,
She found words and pictures dancing with life on the pages!

Next door, a troupe of rabbits were putting on a play,
But Fergus and Daisy had so much to do that they could not stay.
They dashed to the shops and perused the shelves.
First they admired toys handcrafted by cute little elves.
Then Fergus took Daisy to the chocolate shop,
Where she tasted the magical goodies without stop.

But that was still just the beginning.
Throughout it all, Daisy could not stop grinning.
Did you know that this Willow Hill had a castle?
In the sun it did more than just dazzle.

Around the castle was of course a moat,
Where Fergus led Daisy to a boat.
Somehow Daisy then found herself on a ride down a river,
Where they stayed until the sun in the sky was just a sliver.

To finish their day's journey,
Fergus led Daisy through a prairie quite ferny.
Then they traversed through some friendly trees,
Where they were even offered sweet honey from bees.

 The wonders did not stop on their way back to the tree with the door,
And Daisy could not wait to return and venture some more.
Fergus the giant orange cat asked if she would be back the next day,
To which Daisy said that no one could keep her away.

So Daisy departed, but only for a while.
On her face spanned a great big smile.
Daisy decided that she was now quite happy in Willow Hill,
And she knew her life here would be filled with great thrill.

Today is the last Thursday in the April A to Z Challenge. That means we have for you our last Thursday A to Z Challenge doodle. That, in turn, means that this is the last Thursday when our poem will not be accompanied by its illustration. We will instead share this poem's doodle on Sunday.

Speaking of the A to Z Challenge, are you ready for the letter W?

As per usual, our theme involves putting animal-inspired twists on classic story titles. For today, the chosen classic is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. We just made a tiny alteration, though, and ended up with this:

 

Our little weasel up there seems to be having a nice day, and so are we. We are still happily enjoying window whiffies over here in our corner of the world. Of all the furbabies around here, Thimble perhaps enjoys the window whiffies the most. That's why she's entering her gratitude for Spring and its window whiffies into Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

As always, this Thankful Thursday would not be complete without us thanking you all for your friendship. You all make us feel so happy and welcome, and we thank you for that!

Happy Thursday to you all, our friends!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Our Spring safety tip today involves those beloved window whiffies. As you all certainly know, before opening those windows, make sure that they have screens and that those screens are properly safe and secure. Check those window screens before allowing your kitty or pup access. If any weak spots or issues are noted, do not allow your furbaby access until the window is safe against escape by said furbaby.

Also keep in mind that it is possible for a window screen to seem secure, but for a furbaby to lean or push against it and thereby knock it loose. It's also possible for little claws to make weak spots in screens. For this reason, never leave your furbaby unattended with open windows. This way, no accidental falls or escapes from the window can occur. We're a broken record, so we'll again repeat that it's always better to be safe than sorry!