Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Aren't Thursdays just wonderful? They mean we've almost reached Friday. That means we've almost reached the weekend. And, of course, Thursday also means we've reached the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge!

Our hosts, Angel Sammy and Teddy, provide us with a photo prompt each week. The image they shared this week in order to get our creative juices flowing was this sweet one here:

This photo is just so cute and peaceful. That being said, my mind wanted to turn this week's poem into one suitable for Halloween. In case you missed every time I've already said it, I love Halloween. I celebrate Halloween all October (sometimes even longer). But, as per usual, I digress.

So, I told my brain to figure out a way to twist this image into something suitable for Halloween. The result involved morphing those pretty blue birds into crows. Then this (insanely long) poem happened:

The Murder House

Jack and Jill's parents moved the family to a new town,

Something which brought to the children's faces great frowns.

The brother and sister were certain this new town was boring as could be.

If you asked them, there was absolutely nothing here to see.

The town was bland, quiet, and small.

There was nothing fun going on here at all.

Jack and Jill were certain those were the facts,

And they surely would not be swayed from that.

The only one who didn't mind the move was Frog,
Who, despite the name, was Jack and Jill's dog.
In fact, Frog begged for walks again and again.
He insisted on investigating the town from end to end.

During one of their adventures out with Frog,
Jack and Jill heard a shrill caw caw caw!
Shrieking and nearly jumping out of their skins,
The siblings finally glimpsed the source of the din.

The tiny town was flat except for one tiny hill,
Upon which stood a house that gave them some mighty chills.
The house was old, decrepit, and currently covered in crows.
The gnarly old trees in the yard were even filled with crows in rows.
Caw caw caw, the birds cried and screamed.
How could something so small sound so mean?

As if the birds didn't already have them uneasy,
Someone suddenly came up behind Jack and Jill, ever so sneaky.
"Hello!" this newcomer did shout.
"I'm Sally," she added as she stuck her hand out.

Sally then squealed at the sight of Frog.
"Oh," she exclaimed, "I do love me an adorable dog!"
After such greetings were out of the way,
"I see you found the Murder House," Sally did say.
She pointed up at the haunting old house on the hill,
Smiling as if she hadn't just referred to the place with a synonym for kill.

It was late in the day and growing quite cold,
As they stood beneath that house that was creepy and old.
Lights glowed in the battered old windows as darkness did fall,
And silhouettes appeared in each and every one of them all.

Jill gulped and could not help but ask, "Are those ghosts?"
Sally replied, "Don't be silly! That's where the residents always stand post."
Was that supposed to make even a lick of sense?
Jack and Jill couldn't tell if it was them or Sally who was dense.

Trying to remain polite, Jack and Jill swiftly waved goodbye,
Leaving Sally in front of that house with its name that meant die.
Tugging Frog's leash, Jack and Jill dashed away,
Just as caw caw caw the crows again did say.

After that, Jack and Jill did all they could to avoid that route.
Who would want to walk past a place called the Murder House?
The problem, though, was that Frog had other plans.
During his walk one night, he yanked his leash right out of Jack's hand.

And to where did Frog run and lope?
Right toward the Murder House up on its slope!
Jack and Jill yelled, "Come back here, Frog!"
Unfortunately, obedience was not the strong suit of the dog.

"What are we going to do?" Jack asked at the base of the hill,
As he stared up at the house where the crows cawed so shrill.
Up and up that hill Frog ran and tore.
Jill cried, "We can't let him reach that deadly door!"

Jill began to run up the hill, and Jack did the same.
They hoped to reach Frog before they became statistics to the home's name.
Crows circled above, and Jill thought, Don't those birds eat carrion?
She wondered if, truly, the owner of this home did a lot of burying.

Jack and Jill were halfway up the hill and really quite scared,
When they came upon two pumpkins in a pair.
They were unusually carved and glowed with candlelight,
Flickering quite frighteningly on that downright spooky night.
Were the pumpkin's carved eyes watching their flight?
Oh, they had surely found themselves in quite a plight!

Shuddering while continuing their race up the hill,
Jack and Jill saw that from the home's windows light suddenly spilled.
Figures could be seen standing in the yellow glow.
At least Jack and Jill could now tell that these forms were not ghosts, no.

In the windows were, in fact, countless whiskered cats.
They were but silhouettes and all appeared black.
In the glow of the now open door was the shape of a dog.
Oh no, was that Frog?

"Get out of that house!" Jill yelled at the pup.
What if dogs were on what the Murder House's owner did sup?
"Frog, come here!" Jack did command.
But, in the glowing doorway someone else now did stand.

Jack and Jill halted and froze in place.
They were afraid to look upon that stranger's face.
But, stepping forward, the stranger suddenly became Sally,
Just before the siblings planned to go on the defensive and rally.

Jack and Jill pondered Sally's presence,
But every thought just left them guessing.
Was Sally destined to be the house's next victim?
And what if with the same fearful fate they too were stricken?
Was this Murder House to be their haunted prison?

But, Sally then did happily exclaim, "Oh, there you are!
Since your dog arrived, I you knew you must not be far."
Jill blurted out, "Why are you here?"
"Why not?" Sally replied. "There's nothing to fear."

"This is my grandma's house," Sally said with a chuckle,
Just as she crouched down to give Frog a cuddle.
"Actually, Grandma's inside preparing Frog a snack.
My granny, she loves animals, but most especially cats.
Every day she feeds all sorts of critters.
One year, she even raised baby squirrels by the litter."

"Wait, I'm confused," Jack finally had to admit.
"This doesn't make any sense, not one bit."
"Why not?" Sally asked with a smile.
This girl was certainly coming across as a strange little child.

"Just the other night you called this the Murder House," Jill said.
"So, isn't this a place where people end up, well, dead?"
At that, Sally laughed, laughed, and laughed some more.
She laughed so hard, she began to snort.

Finally, Sally calmed herself down,
And what she said next made both Jack and Jill feel like a clown.
"Granny's bird feeders have turned this place into a hotel for crows.
And, well, a group of crows is called a murder, didn't you know?"

***

Just as it goes here every Thursday, we're now shifting to Thimble, as well as to Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop. This time around, it's also a Throwback Thursday.

Our home library has had some redecoration since this photo was taken two years ago. But, don't worry, it still gets perfectly decked out for Halloween.

This Thankful Thursday, Thimble and all of us here are not only grateful for this festive time of year that we love so much, but also for wonderful reads. Books are such a blessing in life.

What's more, we are thankful that our wonderful friend Ellen at 15andmeowing shared beautiful Prancie's beautiful story in her new book, Prancie's Prayer.

This silly human here thought she had ordered the hardcopy of this lovely tale already, but then realized it was still in her cart. So, though we were hoping to have it in hand for a photo on our bookshelf today, for now it's at least on our bookshelf in spirit. (Don't worry, this silly human has ordered it now, and so you'll be seeing photos of Prancie's Prayer in our library in the near future!)

Oh, and of course, on this Thankful Thursday, we're so very thankful for all of you!

***

Last but not least, here are the Friendly Fill-Ins for tomorrow! The first two were crafted up by Ellen of 15andmeowing, and I came up with the second two.

1. My favorite font is _________.

2. October is perfect for _________.

3. Where I live, _________.

4. I feel very _________ this time of year.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Our Tip of the Day:

Our month-long Halloween tips continue! We've mentioned being aware of what decorations you use, and of course keeping in mind your furbaby's safety. Today, we're expanding on that. We're here to remind you to also keep in mind wildlife, as well as stray and feral cats, when decorating outdoors. Cords to light strands, for example, can be just as dangerous to outdoor animals as they can be to indoor animals. The same goes for candles, such as those in jack-o'-lanterns that you might set up on your porch. So for the safety of animals outdoors, keep cords outdoor-safe, and keep them as safely and securely hidden as possible. Just as we mentioned for indoor furbabies, you can use battery-operated or other artificial candles to prevent burns or fires when lighting jack-o'-lanterns outdoors. Again, though, do keep in mind that batteries and plastic pieces can also pose threats to animals.

One other particular outdoor Halloween decoration we want to address are artificial cobwebs. Please use these with caution. These fake cobwebs could lead to animals outdoors becoming dangerously tangled. What's more, ingesting them can lead to issues such as bowel obstruction. Decorations such as artificial cobwebs might be fun and festive, but always keep the safety of both indoor and outdoor animals in mind when using any such products.