Written for RDP where bushboy asks us to
get creative with the word “congregating”.
Thanks, Brian! Here’s where the prompt took me.
© AllTrails
Our house is located a few yards away from the entrance to a nature trail so it isn’t unusual for us to see deer or wild turkeys walking across our property. The other day, however, it looked more like the filming of a Disney movie as a cast of cute creatures began congregating in our backyard. We found out later that day that a massive tree had fallen on the opposite side of the nature preserve, pulling down wires, cutting off phone service and electricity to the neighboring houses, and obviously scaring and displacing the animals who live in the preserve. It’s been lovely, however, drinking our morning coffee or eating lunch outside and watching our visitors munching on the grass and leaves, but I know they are anxious to get back to their homes. Today is stormy and I hope the animals find shelter as they wait it out.
NAR©2026
From 1937’s classic film, Snow White & the Seven Dwarves, this is “Snow White Sings with the Animals in the Forest”:
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, except where otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
Sad for the animals who have been momentarily disoriented by the felling of the tree… but what a treat to bear witness during morning coffee.
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Agree on both counts; happily, it seems all our guests have returned home and the nature preserve is buzzing once again. 😀
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That is a wonderful thing! Even if it’s no longer a Disney backyard 🙂
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A cute story
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Thank you, Sadje. The animals are beautiful.
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You’re most welcome
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If a tree falls in the forest, it’s unlikely no one was around to hear it. Every creature hears it, and for one terrible moment all the birds stop singing. Then a mouse with a clipboard appears and says, ‘Right then, temporary acorn allotments and shared burrow arrangements until further notice.
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Thanks for reading.
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Is this true Sis what a shame for the animals..
How long did it last b 💜💜😊
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Oh yes, it’s all true. This is not the first time nature has taken its course and scared the animals off, but it is the longest that they have hung out in our backyard. This happened early Tuesday morning and they have been here since then. It was very noisy with the cleanup crews, the electric company, and Verizon doing their thing. It was back to normal yesterday afternoon and I believe it’s just another day before the animals make their way back home. They are incredibly smart and resilient. 💜
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What lovely views for you! I hope the animals find new homes and permanent shelter soon.
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The mess from the fallen tree and downed wires has been cleaned up, and everything is running normally. Now it’s just a matter of time before the animals make their way home, and I am confident they will. Other than the initial scare, as far as I can tell, they have been handling being displaced quite well. It’s a joy watching them, but I know they’re anxious to go home. Thanks, Lois.
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Hope they aren’t finding it too stressful. When they desecrated the plantation under the guise of ‘forestry management’, they destroyed so many natural habitats, it; was heartbreaking. We went back shortly after it had started and there was no birdsong, just empty voids where trees used to be.
We’ve visited twice with Maya and its not the same. Maggie’s secret trails are wide open, the badger setts and fox dens dug over, and the replacement trees promised still hadn’t been planted after 8 years (we left on 2014 and Maya came into our lives in 2022).
This clip always flips my heart btw.
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What a terribly distressing and disheartening story you shared, Di. I can’t understand how trees remain unplanted after eight years; what a disgrace! Even though our animals were scared off, it was an active nature and not malicious; they are both safe and comfortable in our yard and the neighboring yards. This is a one off and I am confident everything will return to normal by the weekend. Fortunately, everyone in the immediate area is aware of what happened and we are taking special care of our visitors and not letting our pets spend any time off leash in our yards. These poor animals have been through enough stress already.
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This is so lovely you are all looking after the animals. The plantation was distressing and all done for profit. After last time, we could not go back as it was too upsetting.
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We can understand that, Di. What a shame.
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i always liked when a wild animal showed up in the yard. In NH i had deer, turkeys, turtles, fox, owl and a hawk.
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Yeah, it’s pretty cool!
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I am sorry for their situation- but I am glad you are enjoying the visit!
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I’m just glad they are comfortable enough to hang out in our backyard and not feel threatened. They will settle back down in the preserve in another day or two. Thanks, Jodi.
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That is a sad situation when animals get displaced, even for a short while. At least your congregation seemed happy Nancy.
Thanks for joining in RDP 😀
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It’s got to be terribly upsetting and disorienting for them. Fortunately, it’s very quiet where we live and literally a hop, skip, and a jump back to the preserve for the animals. Thanks for leaving a wonderful comment, Brian, and for giving us a very cool word to work with.
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