The Mercy Cat Meadows 🐾

Day. 10 🦔🌜 "A Small Meadow" is a poem about supporting hedgehogs, resilient little mammals navigating urban landscapes and private gardens as their natural habitats vanish. A simple backyard lawn provides a vital, healthy foraging ground for these nocturnal visitors. In return, they act as nature’s pest controllers, feeding on garden insects and helping plants thrive naturally. 「小さな草地」は、自然の生息地が失われゆく中、都市の景観や個人の庭を行き来する小さな哺乳類、ハリネズミを支えることについて詠んだ詩です。家の裏庭にあるごく普通の芝生も、夜に訪れる彼らにとっては、なくてはならない健全な餌場となります。そのお返しとして、彼らは庭の虫を食べて植物の自然な生育を助け、いわば「自然の害虫駆除係」の役割を果たしてくれるのです。 🦔🌜 A Small Meadow Dusk signals the hour For the quiet paths they travel, From one garden to the next, A nocturnal excursion. Their destination: a foraging ground. One moment they waddle along, Then, locking onto a target, They break into a swift trot! Pure survival instinct, Driven across open spaces, Racing the edge of the garden, Scrambling to the safety of the hedgerow. The constant threat Of att...

Day. 9 💦🦅 "In the Sunlight" is a poem dedicated to a special summer visitor, a young magpie friend who would come to play. Through words, the poem connects to actual memories from my garden, capturing his bold yet endearing behaviour from the time when he was a fledgling practicing various skills. His playful antics reveal a bird who, despite his inexperience, is eager to learn. 「In the Sunlight（陽光の中で）」は、ある特別な夏の訪問者、遊びにやってくる若いカササギ鳥の友人に捧げた詩です。この詩は、言葉を通して、私の実際の庭での思い出とつながっています。若鳥として様々な技を練習していた頃の、彼の大胆かつ愛らしい振る舞いがここに描かれています。その遊び心あふれる行動からは、彼がまだ経験不足ながらも、懸命に学ぼうとしている様子がうかがえます。 💦🦅 In the Sunlight On a scorching summer day A bright red-brown terracotta tray Is filled with fresh shimmer His rhythmic "chak-chak" call From the elder plum tree Has announced his arrival With a splash he dives in Spreads his wings in Water droplets that glitter And sparkle in the sunlight Blissful and content, then he Flies up to perch in the plum tree To preen and soak up...

Day.8 🐦🌳 "A Featherd Assistant" is a poem about a small bird, a female juvenile robin that visits the garden. It captures her foraging on the ground while the garden is being watered or immediately afterward. Hopping across the damp earth, she pecks at insects; her movements evoke scenes typical of the forest ecosystem, reminiscent of the interactions between medium-sized mammals and small birds. 🐦🌳 「羽のある相棒」は、庭にくる小さな鳥、メスのヨーロッパコマドリ若鳥を詠んだ詩です。庭の水やり中やその直後に、彼女が地面で餌を探す様子を観察しています。彼女は、水で湿った地面をぴょんぴょんと移動しながら、虫をついばんでいきます。その姿は、森の生態系の中で中型の哺乳類と小さな鳥たちの間で見られる光景を彷彿とさせるものです。 🐦🌳 A Feathered Assistant A tiny morning star Her "chi-chi-chi" entrance The music holds a real appeal She wears a golden-spotted brown coat And has a mottled golden-buff head Her contact call is a real deal Signalling me she's ready Whatever tiny insects or seeds For her breakfast No.2 That bright, curious look Is endearing, Those big, shiny eyes Are enquiring, The quick head t...

Day 7. 🌳🕊 "A Back-Garden Love Story" is a poem dedicated to a pair of woodpigeons I observed over the course of eleven days. I watched them court one another on the branches, huddle together while cooing, call out when apart, defend their partner against magpies and jackdaws, tirelessly gather twigs, and rest beneath the tree. The pair displayed remarkable teamwork, moving in a clockwise pattern, and possessed the intelligence to build their nest in a safe location. 『裏庭のラブストーリー』は、私が11日間にわたって観察した一羽の鳩のつがいに捧げた詩です。彼らが枝の上で求愛し、鳴き声を交わしながら身を寄せ合い、離れているときには互いを呼び合い、カササギやコクマルガラスからパートナーを守り、休むことなく小枝を集め、木の下で休息する姿を目にしました。そのつがいは時計回りに動くという見事な連携を見せ、安全な場所に巣を作る賢さを備えていました。 🌳🕊 A Back-Garden Love Story  Inside the canopy of An apple tree A dappled light Filters through the leaves Her soft grey feathers With a subtle pink And iridescent white bars Camouflage her body From her newly built nest Her much deeper Purring call Weaves rhythmic tunes Her devoted partner Answers...

Day 6. 🪾🐦 "Songs from the Branches" is a poem that observes the ecological connection between a half-withered plum tree and the birds that inhabit it. The blue tit chicks and their parents showed that their new life is thriving as they stood on the plum tree. 「枝からの歌」は、半ば枯れかけた梅の木とそこに棲む鳥たちとの生態学的なつながりを描いた詩です。シジュウカラの雛とその親鳥たちは、その梅の木の上に立ち、新たな生活が順調に進んでいる様子を示していました。 🪾🐦 Songs from the Branches A struggling plum tree, Working hard, it loses branches To save the new leaves, That bends gracefully— Is it too much for it to remain anchored to the ground? The bare branches welcome Birds flapping their wings, Chicks clinging, That stand gracefully— It is well occupied by affectionate birds. The little acrobats chirping, Their high-pitched zee-zee-zee , Their soft yellow tsip-tsip-tsip — The plum tree that transforms into A life-sustaining station, That provides the structural bones For a new generation of blue tits. © 2026 Michie Lyne  🪾🐦 枝からの歌 苦闘する梅の木 懸...

Day 5. 🌲🦤 "Shared Sky" is a poem that documents a sanctuary. I elevated this poem from personal observation to a universal message about conservation. In my mission to share the Earth and its ecosystems, I depict how a single cedar tree transforms into something far greater, becoming a safe haven for all animals. 「分け合う空」は、ある安らぎの場を記録した詩です。私はこの詩を、個人的な観察から、環境保護に関する普遍的なメッセージへと昇華。地球とその生態系を共有するという私の使命において、一本の杉の木が、いかにしてはるかに偉大な存在へと変貌し、あらゆる動物にとっての安全な避難所となるのかを描き出しています。 🌲🦤 Shared Sky A magnificent visitor appears His elegant colour steers Across the vast sky The massive wetland bird soars His slender neck explores Into the cast away With its powerful wings A spring heron Has he taken Flight far from Its nesting ground Caught in a glimpse of rivalry Chased by a flock of sea gulls With its high stealth A spring heron Has he vanished From far fright Their territory bound Camouflaged in a dense dark den Circled by a flock of sea gulls With its centred p...

Day 4.  🌊🦭 "The Inner Compass" is a poem depicting a gray seal resting on the shore, protected by m arine environmentalists , surrounded by ribbons. This poem aims to raise awareness of the lives of marine life and the health of the ocean. They live in harmony with the seasons and the tides. 「内なる羅針盤」は、海の 環境保護人 たちに リボンで囲まれ、 守られながら海岸で休むハイイロアザラシを描いた詩です。 この詩は、海洋生物の生命と海の健全性への意識を高めることを目的としています。彼らは季節や潮の満ち引き​​と調和して生きているのです。 🌊🦭 The Inner Compass My friend You swim a hundred miles Wandering the azure sea As long as the seasons allow You glide through every wind Your immense journey Relying on your inner compass Using the fins of your hind legs Sprinting at high speed Through the deep blue seas And the wind carries you To the shore where you Rest on the beach of low tide For a brief moment of peace Until the high tide Signals the time Of the next hunt My friend You set out again Towards the azure desert Wandering the vast ocean As long as the s...