Category: babies

The first thing I noticed, upon arriving at the barn this morning, was the quiet. This is far from normal, as I’m usually greeted by half a dozen excited babes, all trying to be the first to get snuggles. Where was everyone?

Walking inside the barn to search for my little ones, I immediately learned the cause for all the missing babes… ants! There were more ants in the barn than I’ve ever before encountered… they covered the floor from one end to the other. I’ll be honest in saying that, had it not been for my babes all huddled up in the rafters, you’d have seen me running for the door. As fleeing was not an option, I stood staring at the scene before my eyes, trying to determine what on earth was going on.

Even though the sight of this many ants made my skin crawl, they didn’t seem to be going anywhere, or doing anything, aside from waiting like an audience waits for a show to begin. From up in the rafters, I heard Tilly offering words of comfort to Dinky, who was fully terrified at seeing the floor beneath her move. Squagon suggested that I go ask Lilly about all of our unexpected guests, as this was apparently, all her fault! He pointed toward my open office door with an irritated look upon his face, and said, “Barbara Walters is waiting in your office for her interview, and she brought her entire family along to watch!”

As I walked toward my office doorway, the mass of ants on the floor graciously parted to either side, making way for my passage. When I walked through the door, I was greeted by a sight that made me want to laugh out loud. Stifling my giggles and trying to be fully serious, I approached my desk and greeted miss Lilly, who did look a great deal like Barbara Walters. There she sat, pen and paper in hand, upon the surface of my desk.

So, I spent a full 20 minutes trying to convince Lilly to send her family home, without offending them of course, about this little misunderstanding. Once I explained to her that she didn’t need to interview me, in order to tell you of what makes her special, Lilly finally agreed to send them all away. She and I both assured her family that we would be sending them a copy of today’s story, as soon as I finished putting it together.

Surprisingly, it only took about 10 minutes for the army of ants to leave the barn, but an entire hour was needed to get my little ones down out of the rafters. I finally had to put a large bowl of oatmeal out on the floor, covering it with raisons, honey and melted butter. Food wins out all the time around here!

Truth be told, the way things went this morning with Lilly, is the very reason I think she is so special! From the moment she arrived in our barn some months ago, I knew that Lilly was not only very bright, but very bold and adventurous! How else would she have found her way to the barn, if not for the flight of her puffball?

Lilly might be a tiny little thing, but she makes up for her small size with a larger-than-life amount of confidence! She’s not scared of anything… that is, anything aside from being left out. Perhaps, this was the reason she felt it necessary to be an active part of her own story this morning. While her actions are not always the best idea, I fully believe that her heart is always in the right place.

When the babes are playing, Lilly is the one they go to for ideas of what to do for fun. She actually enjoys spending time with the other little ones, learning as much as she can about them. From there, she creates fun games and adventures for the whole barn. When I’m in my office writing, Lilly can often be found resting on my shoulder, taking her own notes and giving me ideas when I ask for her help. I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes an author herself, among her ant colonies. You saw, by the sheer number of ants that were in the barn this morning, Lilly has an enormous family and following.

Since Lilly is such a free spirit, she tends to come and go as she pleases, but more often than not, she chooses to either spend time playing with the barn babes, or with me in my office. I don’t completely understand why she loves us, but I’m so very glad that Lilly chooses to be a part of our family! Life here in the barnyard would not be nearly as wonderful, if Lilly hadn’t come along and become a part of our lives.

Now all we need to do, is learn how NOT to panic when Lilly has family visiting…

The Nothing Box!

I’ve been sitting here this morning, staring at the computer monitor and wondering what thoughts to write down. I’ve been doing this for nearly two hours, not because there’s nothing there, but because there’s too many thoughts currently floating around in my thinking box! At no time, have I been able to say with any honesty that I’m not thinking of anything!

I know that I for one, have heard the comments and jokes about men having something called a Nothing Box, when it comes to answering the question, “What are you thinking about?” Some have claimed that men just say this to their partners out of laziness… giving a definite answer will surely bring more conversing, so when asked, they just claim they aren’t thinking of anything. We all do this at one time or another, I suppose, even if we are thinking about a thing; it’s just a quick and easy answer.

After nearly 18 years of marriage, I really think men DO have a nothing box, at least my hubby does. When he uses the answer “nothing” to my thought prodding question, he’s being fully serious. There’s no deflecting going on, he was sincerely enjoying the time spent thinking of nothing! I’m so jealous!

I have fully tried to meditate on nothing, but by the time I clean out all the clutter in my thought box, all I’ve managed to do is organize my thoughts and feelings, systematically putting everything back on it’s thought shelf where it belongs. I would never have been able to found my Overthinkers Anonymous group, nor would it have remained so active, had I been capable of accessing a Nothing Box years earlier.

The closest I’ve been able to come, for my own sanity, is a Quiet Box. If I have to share space in there with all my thoughts, I take comfort in simply organizing and tidying up, until I just have to read the labels on all my thought books. For some reason it’s easier to just skim the top of things I know are there, without having to read through all of the details. For the most part, this works fairly well… until it doesn’t!

Of late, things have been a bit more than my brain can tolerate, so I’ve been rearranging my nothing box in quite a manic sort of way… recently chewing a hole in the bottom of my box, in hopes that some things might spill out to make more room. Until life interruptus decides to go on holiday, I think I might need to look for a bigger Nothing Box!

It’s Take a Camel to Work Day!

Come on, you know you want to do it! Who wouldn’t want to trade bad jokes over the water cooler, entertaining a Camel that may spit at you if the joke’s not funny enough? I’m just sayin that it could brighten up your Wednesday… that’s all.

Episode 3

This world was so very big and frightening, thought the tiny turtle, as she hid beneath the plastic cup left on the beach. She’d been considering how to get to the water without being eaten by the huge Gulls, which were circling overhead.

When the tiny turtle’s hiding cup suddenly disappeared, to be replaced by the face of a large creature of some sort, she lay frozen in fear! Unsure of whether or not she was about to be eaten, or even trampled into the sand , the turtle found herself unable to flee!

The old man was just as taken aback, by discovering a turtle beneath the garbage he’d been collecting! For several moments, the two simply stared at one other, unsure of what came next. The old man wondered why the turtle hadn’t bolted for the water when he’d lifted the cup? Was she injured? The old man sat down beside the little turtle, to observe her further, before deciding whether or not to get involved. He’d always had a strong commitment to let nature be, allowing wildlife to exist the way they were intended, without humans changing the rules of nature. Now, for the first time in all these years, he was not so sure that walking away was the right thing to do.

Normally, these turtles all hatch at approximately the same time, covering the beach with thousands of little creatures, all running for the water at once. Even though one understood the theory of safety in numbers, the old man still chose not to visit the beach on those days, as it was sad for him to watch this part of nature. The hatching that usually took place on this beach had ended almost a week earlier, so he was perplexed at seeing a brand new baby cowering in the sand now, all by itself. Thinking back on things, the old man remembered seeing a flurry of Gulls near this area, just the day before; now it made a bit more sense, as to what they’d been doing over in these bushes. It occurred to him that this turtle was a very late arrival, most probably the last to emerge from the nest.

Unsure of how to proceed further, both the old man and the tiny turtle just sat there on the sand, side by side, one observing the other in an effort to make sense of things. He was considering whether or not to assist the baby in her dash for the water, or maybe he shouldn’t do anything at all. The old man began to consider picking up the frightened turtle, taking it home with him and calling the nearest wildlife rescue.

At the same time, the little turtle was thinking on things, the way a turtle might. She was pretty sure that she should head for the water, but where was everyone? She’d been hiding under her cup all morning, waiting for other turtles to make a run to the water with her, but no one came. Sitting here now, she realized that she must choose to either run or be eaten! The turtles instinct told her to curl up inside her shell, and await the creatures departure. Hopefully, it would think her dead and wander off down the beach.

Will the old man help the tiny turtle? Should he? What’s one turtle’s fate going to do for the species itself? Would it be a better fate for the tiny turtle, to simply let the Gulls do their work, thereby providing food for them and their own offspring? The odds were already stacked against her reaching adulthood, anyway.

There is such a fine line between helping and interfering that many choose to do nothing, for fear of making a thing worse, rather than better. Will the old man follow his heart and help this turtle, or will he put the cup back down over her and walk away? Can he throw out the rule book, just this once?

You know, I think we’re all faced with a choice, to actively help in our planet’s conservation, or simply do nothing. I realize that it seems daunting, trying to undo generations of global overuse, in hopes of restoring it for our future. We often feel overwhelmed with the big picture, feeling feeble and useless in making any difference at all, so we just don’t look or think on it.

Perhaps the change we need, is to do good even if we don’t think we’re enough… one person at a time, one small act after another. Something as small and miniscule as putting your wrapper in a bin, rather than on the back seat floor of your car, or worse, on the ground. Tiny things add up!

What if the important thing about helping the turtle, is not so much whether she will reach adulthood, but more so about the old man’s willingness to do the right thing? Even if he doesn’t realize it, the old man is helping! Our global warming issues, along with our wildlife conservation efforts are daunting, to say the least! We cannot expect an overnight fix, nor a rapid outcome of what has taken generations to cause! Every little act or effort toward furthering our planets recovery, takes us all, one step at a time.

Tune in next Tuesday, as we learn the fate of our tiny turtle…

I just wanted to share a song that brings me encouragement!

God Bless…