I woke up this morning thinking of a nonsense rhyme I learned when I was a child and wondering why it had never occurred to me to adapt it before now.
If you watched the generally remarkable Oregon Field Guide you probably remember the clip of the uncomfortable-looking biologist holding the squirming beaver kit by its tail as he releases it all-to-willingly into the water. Expert beaver relocator Sherri Tippie had an unsurprising reaction to that image, and wrote:
Heidi, You’ve probably seen this – but I was freaked out, you should NEVER carry a beaver by the tail like this guy did! You can break their tail!!! Otherwise the video is wonderful!! I yelled when I saw that! It’s really easy to break their tails, especially the young ones. He was afraid of the baby. . . I bet that’s why he grabbed him like that. I do like that idea of sticking posts in the water. I would like to try that. Love, Sherri
Hmmm. Powerful advice from a passionate expert. It forced me to try some Monday morning poetry. The amusing column on the left was written by Jack Pretlusky, the first ever children’s poet laureate and generally remarkable writer. The column on the right is my homage. What ever you might think of my attempt, in the unlikely event that the opportunity should present itself, don’t neglect the advice!
