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Poems and Thoughts by Frank Maurer

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Pets

Email to Bill opus 7

My late wife (Nora) rescued and neutered a few stray cats, left on our highway. There are now a few remaining after her death in November 2016. One was a favorite; small, gray female, often with a "squeaky" meow, when in human contact.

Lately she comes only off and on to our morning feedings. At first I was worried she had been hit by a car. Now I wonder if she is being fed elsewhere. If you do not have other cats you are feeding and are feeding only this cat (if you are), please stop feeding her so she will stay with me. She is part of the memory of my late wife.

Thank you,
Frank.

The Wolf Captured opus 28

Humans have genetically captured the wolf
To create the myriad number of dogs.

We love to live together and depend on each other,
But what of the future for each of these life forms?

The Pacific Pond Turtle opus 135

Most people in California have no idea
That they are sharing territory with the Pacific Pond Turtle--
The only freshwater turtle in the state.
(There may be a possibly extinct Mud Turtle
Originally recorded from the Imperial Valley.)
This species is struggling now, competing with introduced species.

Certain ethnic grocery stores freight in the Southern Painted Turtle and the Elegant Slider.
They are imported for human consumption,
But, sadly, many are kept as pets, only to be released or are escapees.
Other ethnic groups buy many to be part of a religious service and are then released.
People often feel 'sorry' for captive creatures and good-heartedly 'let them go'.

As with all unwanted (by the knowing) introductions,
The 'culprits' have no idea the huge harm they are causing
To the long established native species,
Resulting from the generally unequal competition by those introduced.
There is no good judgement nor proper evaluation
Of these innocent acts which cause this basic biological chaos,
Because the majority of us do not take the time nor care
To learn the flora and fauna of our own ecosystem,
Thus allowing these thoughtless acts to occur around us.
Humans formerly knew well their surroundings
In order to gather and hunt food, collect materials to construct or build,
And knew what was safe and what was dangerous to their lives.

There are so many stories of visitors hiking and resting in a patch of poison oak,
Or swimming in an unknown river with a dangerous current,
Or consuming a mushroom that causes a fatal end,
Or bringing in foreign plants, because of homesickness or because 'it looks nice'.
To learn one's surroundings takes time and patience,
But the joy of understanding one's 'place' and its inhabitants,
Is boundless and is helpful for one's own being
And the protection of fellow creatures (including plants!).

The Labyrinth opus 136

Fish have gills, Silly: How else would they breathe?
Well, because of evolution through natural selection,
A group of fish (there are many other examples)
Inhabiting the Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia area are the Bettas.
Bettas were originally found in Thailand.
They are among the oldest domesticated fish species in the world,
Having been owned as pets for more than 4000 years!
They survive in small puddles of water, in rice fields, and ditches.
Because of the uncertain fluctuating oxygen supply,
They have evolved a structure at the bony base of the gill,
Called a labyrinth, which allows not only gill breathing,
But also the intake of air, by gulping, this interacting within the labyrinth,
Supplementing the often low oxygen content in the surrounding water.
The labyrinth contains plates with a myriad of oxygen absorbing blood vessels
Which gather inhaled air now trapped inside a group of folds
And then absorbed into the main bloodstream.

Bettas are obligate air breathers in that they occasionally must take in oxygen from the air.
The other group of labyrinth fish are facultative air breathers,
Which only breathe at the surface when running low on oxygen.
Bettas breathe using their labyrinth organ, day and night,
So they prefer sleeping under large plants near the water's surface
And thus do not need to exert extra energy to rise to the top for a quick gulp.

Interestingly, they use this organ to create 'bubble nests' at the surface.
The males blow bubbles to form one of these nests as part of their reproductive process,
But even single males will make a bubble nest, if content in their space!

Just another fascinating creature to get to know and this is why
Natural history study makes one an ever-more interesting person.

Try it!

Evolution Doesn't Exist! (Dogs must have come from an Omniscient Puff!) opus 147

The origin of dogs was, until recently, not perfectly understood.
Now it is basic knowledge that dogs, with human selection,
Evolved from Eurasian and Asian Gray wolves.
But the history of Native American dogs has a more complex saga.
Dogs probably entered North America from Siberia 4500 years after humans did,
And were isolated for the next 9000 years.
After contact with Europeans, these dogs no longer existed,
Because they were replaced by Eurasian dogs.
The pre-contact dogs showed a unique genetic signature, now gone.
The DNA indicated that their nearest genetic relatives today
Are the Arctic breed dogs such as Malamutes, Greenland dogs,
And Alaskan and Siberian Huskies.

The replacement by Eurasian dogs may have been caused by
Diseases introduced by Europeans, or persecution of native dogs by European colonists.
Also European dogs could have been favored, possibly because of better training.
So, the domestication of American wolves did not really occur,
But rather domesticated dogs came over with the First Peoples from Siberia.
These dogs existed in North America for about 5000 years
And remained until 15th century settlers arrived with their dogs.
The Siberian Huskies and other similar breeds likely came over about 1000 years ago--
Roughly 500 years before European settlers arrived.

When I was in graduate school at Cornell University,
No one was ever really sure just what the origin of our dogs was today.
Wolves, coyotes, foxes, dingoes--just what?
DNA studies have been so helpful with so many knowledge bases
And I am thankful I have lived to be able to see these results!

Wonderful Tony opus 149

Tony Bennett, died at 96 just yesterday.
His voice rendered a gentle, slow, soft vibrato.
He had his highs and lows in life--drugs in the 70's;
Some albums made in that decade did not go over well, until later.
'Sometimes the world needs to catch up with what you are doing.'
And then a tenacious comeback in the 80's and on.
He recognized and worked on solving hunger with many he saw.
His later musical collaborations with others such as Lady Gaga,
Endeared him ever more to his greater audience.
He exuded joy and voiced a very strong love for just being alive.
'Money does not bring happiness, but a stability to be happy
And to have the time and the ability to bring joy to others.'

As I age, Tony, I feel what you say--
My joy in my sons, my new little grandson, Rowan, all my friends,
And all the creatures I share my abode with--
My lamb, my steer, my emu, my tortoises, and, yes, my responsive Betta fish!

Dog Walking opus 227

So many dog walking accidents have been reported--
Dragged by dog and leash to injury and broken bones,
Resulting from a canine rival or just a passing squirrel.
Do we forget that even though domesticated for perhaps 30,000 years,
These genetically captured, leashed creatures still maintain,
At least some of their original, primordial instincts?

A Moment from the Past opus 243

Once again, I was in line in the pet store with more 'lizard-crickets'.
A pleasant young lady pulled back with a full cart of product.
She smiled as I said, "Thank you."
I paid and was walking out as she passed by me.
I said, "So you told me you have rabbits."
Then asking if she had chickens
To graze the droppings from the cages above.
"No," she said, stopping to talk.
"Did you have children in the Davis schools?"
I said yes and named my two boys, Pierre and Basil.
"Oh, I went to school with Basil!"
She gave me her name as Sevgi.
Rummaging through my mind for languages,
I said, not quite sure which language to grab onto,
"That means love!"  "Yes it is Turkish."
"Of course," I responded. She smiled that I had understood.
(I did live in Turkiye for some years.)
Her sparkling eyes prompted me to invite her
And her family to my farm.
We said goodbye, I, feeling a nice warmth of internationalism.
Travel in and learning about other cultures
Does add a further dimension to one's depth.

Ellie The Governor opus 276

I just heard that the state of New Hampshire
Has an interesting annual event--
Namely, the government invites a fifth grader
To be 'governor for a day'.
This year the young governor was Ellie Lively
Who proclaimed her 'haupt' agenda--
Combating animal cruelty,
Educating Fifth Graders to visit animal shelters,
And follow Ellie's example of regularly
Reading to shelter animals in her local shelter.
If she is successful, other students will do the same,
Wherever they reside in the state.

We need more of this type of thinking,
Also for our 'unsheltered' wild neighbors.

The Synergy of Human Girls and Their Dogs opus 292

It has been documented that as girls age,
Their physical movements decrease
When compared with that of young boys.
When a girl lives with a dog,
Her movements are faster and more intense.
When a dog dies, a girl's activities once again decrease.
The conclusion, at the moment, appears to be
That a girl, companioned with a dog,
May manifest greater activity and health.
Of course, we must again remember our coevolution with dogs
And this data perhaps increases
The empirical importance of our millennial relationship
With this once ancestral and wild canid, the wolf.

Our Marijuana Dogs opus 313

As most states did, Ohio declared the use of marijuana illegal.
As most states did, they trained police dogs to sniff out the stuff.
As many states have, recreational marijuana use is now legal.
What to do with these steno-olfactory, well trained dogs?
The attempt to retrain these dogs with a very exaggerated specific sense,
Proved to be too difficult--were they too habituated like their human counterparts?
At any rate, the only fate for these dogs is complete retirement,
Just as we retire our protective military and police dogs.
Thankfully, there are human activists who attempt to maintain
A just end for the lives of these canine coworkers (do they have a choice?).
Yet another example of the ever-closer coevolution of humans
With our wolf-descendent-dog companions.

How to Survive an Alligator! opus 375

I occasionally drop by my local pet store
To check out what chelonia species are up for sale.
Now and then, on a whim, I 'rescue' a specimen, catching my fancy.
Recently, I inquired about two Yellow Bellied turtles
(Pseudemys scripta scripta)
Which had remained in the store for weeks.
After making a 'deal', homeward they went with me.
With a dark carapace, a yellow streak slicing each scute,
And a bright yellow plastron,
I found them quietly attractive to the eye.

Sussing them out from my comprehensive 'Encyclopedia of Turtles' ,
I discovered about their southeastern US range,
But most interestingly, the heavy shell of this species,
Perhaps evolved to be resistant to their cohabitating alligators,
So that they might survive the potential cracking
And inevitable consumption by their crocodilian neighbors.

So many subtle examples of selection through the evolutionary process,
Which, with some examination, become evident to the studious mind.

A Fortunate Old Man opus 546

I have many memories of 'good' and 'bad':
It is all relative.
I have reasonable health.
I have warm or cool shelter--
Depends on the season.
I have nourishment--
Recycled, roadkill, entomophagous, or deluxe.
I have activities to keep my mind astute--
Conservation efforts, writing, fundraising,
Discourse with those who wish to engage;
Tending and feeding my animals--
From fish (Bettas), to bird (emu),
To reptile (Bearded Lizards), to mammal (Angus calf):
I have them all--my constant companions.
I have occasional friendly visitors
Who gift me bits of wonderful food
And to some, in return, I donate some remuneration
For various student and conservation causes;
But, most profoundly, my two boys (men),
Who check in on me, converse with me, help me,
And keep my faculties honed to sharpness.
It could be far worse.

The Creation of Dogs--Just Child's Play opus 551

I am a child, sitting near a middens pile, perhaps 30,000 years ago.
This young and seemingly fearless wolf pup comes near, as usual,
To hunt out and sort remaining bits of tasty, discarded morsels.
Such easy scavenging for food--and the ever-present Human youngster
Appears to be sitting quietly, patiently observing--meaning no harm.
The child, daily, sits closer, and at last holds out a tasty bone with some flesh.
Soon, that child is gently stroking the pup as it masticates,
And before one knows, the pup is carefully cuddled in the child's arms.
So might have been the beginning of the profound dog-human co-evolution,
Which today is practiced, but few of us are familiar with its wonderful story.

To Andrew: The Dual Existence of our Saturdays' Time Spans opus 628

Most noble Andrew; It is such as you who nurtures
The human world by caring for another Homo sapiens' offspring,
Plus further caring for that creature which co-evolved with us--
The dog, having evolved by way of human attention from the noble wolf.

While I, in a completely different vein, have spent the day
Toiling to save for conservation, a mere 2660 acres
Of our planet for use by other creatures than just us alone.
Which is more noble, that of the care of a child and dog
Or preserving a mere 2660 acres of the planet's large surface?
Time might tell--a result which neither of us may ever know.
We live with the anticipation that, that for which we exert our energies,
May be manifested to the delight of those angels
Which are only in our mythical heads.

May time Sunday be spared from your Mother's needs,
For us to have a moment of communication under the pine,
 
Juxtaposed by our tiny pond.

Why a Pet Rock? Have a Trilobite! opus 670

Rocks are very old and, as a pet, are easily cared for.
Unless one is knowledgeable in geology,
A rock, considering it sternly, is just a rock.
Of course one usually adds, at least, wiggly eyes.
Now consider a Trilobite as a pet.
They are very old, maintaining a rock-like morphology,
Which is what this transformed body of a Trilobite is--a fossil.
They were once alive--no pretending there.
Trilobites existed so long--270 million years,
That they morphed into 25,000 species during their time span!
Thus, there are a myriad of shapes and sizes to choose from.
But most of all they had real eyes--prominently placed.
No need for anything fake or wiggly here.
(Of course, there were a few species which were totally blind!) 
And finally, gazing upon its beautifully formed body,
One has to be continually stunned and humbled,
Realizing how very long they thrived on our planet,
Comparing our perhaps 200,000 years to their nearly 300 million, 
Especially considering all the planetary monkeying we are doing.
They disappeared, to no fault of their own,
As a result of the great cooling of their ocean habitat.
What a truly significant pet--there should be one in every home!

Our Coevolution with the Cat opus 703

Those in the Fertile Crescent perfected agriculture--
Organizing fields with seed saved from the previous year.
Random wandering to discover those tiny seed-gems
Became obsolete as a manner of food gathering.
Success of harvesting increased to a point
Where huge numbers of grain were amassed.
Methods of storage for the pending year challenged populations-- 
Those tiny rodents soon discovered that 'grain mine',
Slowly gnawing away at the food supply of the human suppliers.
Also arriving on the scene were wild cats,
Relishing the concentrated supply of those tiny mammals.
The humans realized the value of cat-presence,
Naturally combating and aiding in the control of those little munchers.
Soon, especially in Egypt, cats rose to the level of the sacred.
They were mummified and slipped into the sarcophagi of their owners.
Now, cats roam in many places uncontrolled,
Just like Rock Doves, which switched from cliffs to tall buildings. 
These days, human activities somewhat affect 
Most all other creatures' ways of life,
Except for bacteria, and more, viruses, which still hold power over us.
We cannot yet mold them genetically into the form we wish,
Except for ever-continued research, which medically wards them off!