When I arrived at the barn this morning, it was once again empty, with no babes anywhere to be seen! I sort of figured they’d be out playing in the fort they built last week, so I headed that way. When I got to the fort, there was no babes to be found anywhere. As I stood wondering where they might be, I heard some commotion down at the pond.

Normally, I don’t like to leave the babes unattended down by the water, but Brutus and Tilly are with them, and those two are both good swimmers. If I knew Tilly, she’d ensure the babes would all have life jackets on, while Brutus would simply fish them out of the water if needed. F.Y.I. Tilly and her friends all worked things out last week, as I had hoped they would. In the end, love always wins out! Underneath it all, I think that Tilly just really wants her own baby, but that’s just a guess.

Anyway, I was tempted to just let the babes alone, as the silence in the barn would be divine for my writing. But, as curiosity has always been a thing that drives my imagination, I headed for the commotion down at the pond. When I arrived, it was like watching a bunch of children trying to fish a toy out of the bathtub… a very large bathtub!

Brutus was dashing madly about, fishing one babe or another out of the deep end of the pond, in which they’d flung themselves fearlessly; whatever it was they were trying to catch, seemed very important to them. When I looked over towards Tilly, she wasn’t upset at all like I thought she’d be, rather, she was cheering them on excitedly!

There, in the middle of the pond sat the smallest of frogs, happily resting upon a lily pad. As soon as any babe got close to it, the tiny thing would simply hop to nearby pad, easily escaping their grasp. I admit that I was quite surprised, just as my little ones had been, that we had a frog in our pond. It’s a very small area and I’m not even sure there are any fish in there; at least, I’ve never seen anything, aside from myself and the babes.

I recalled all the troops, offering them some fresh raspberries I’d brought to the barn with me this morning. As the babes stuffed the juicy red berries into their tiny mouths, they tried to tell me of what they’d been doing… spraying juice and seeds in all directions.

While they did this, the frog seemed to be relaxing on it’s little pad, out in the center of the pond. In my opinion, the frog didn’t appear to be scared at all, instead, it looked to be waiting for the chase to continue; I think the frog was having fun jumping away, almost more than the babes were having, while trying to catch it.

Leaving Brutus and Tilly to corral the babes along the bank, I walked down to the ponds edge and placed two fresh raspberries atop the closest lily pad I could reach. I then stepped back and sat down upon the soft grass, to await the frog’s next move. For several moments, with Dinky and Boomer excitedly squealing in the background, the frog just sat there staring at me curiously. The frog suddenly jumped from its resting place, and with practiced ease, landed beside the raspberries.

While the frog enjoyed the berries, he introduced himself as Flurburt! He explained that he was in need of a home and had hoped to take up residence in the pond. That is, until my band of furry hooligans came along. He’d not realized that the pond belonged to someone else already. I explained that this pond was not actually our pond, but simply the local pond near our barn.

While he wasn’t afraid of the babes, he was concerned about constantly being chased by the little ones. Eventually, someone might get hurt, and he’d not want to cause anyone to come to harm. He’s agreed to stay, if, and only if, I can control the babes a little more when they come to the pond. I have agreed!

So, the only plan I’ve thought to come up with, as a way to teach the babes how to be gentle and calm, has been to get them each a stuffed frog of their own. I’ve a plan to take them all on a short adventure into the forest, baby stuffed frogs and all! My hope is that they can practice playing in the woods, while taking proper care of their own little pretend baby. It worked for my daughters when they were small, so why wouldn’t it work with my babes now?

I realize that I may be taking on more of a challenge than I should, but I’ve both Brutus and Tilly to assist. Wish me luck!