To this day, everytime I remember back on this show, I can remember the lyrics to the insurance add that ran during the commercials… Mutual of Omaha… people… you can count on when the goings tough…
I would spend every Sunday evening watching this show, as it played right before the Wonderful World of Disney. My parents would finish watching their line up of the Lawrence Welk show, and Hee Haw… finally relinquishing the entertainment box to the small humans. Back in the day, most families only had one television in the house.
Marlin Perkins was such a wildlife superhero to this little girl! I wanted to grow up to be a National Geographic journalist. I would spend most of my free time pretending I was out on that African safari, making friends with the baby Giraffes I saw onscreen…
Or I pretended to find wild baby Cheetah cubs, carrying my poor cat around in a blanket in the middle of summer… til he got hot and escaped my clutches…
While I have no aspirations or dreams of designing anything for the future, in the real world that is, I do have a good bit of experience in building imaginary cities, animal houses, and really good armor.
It is Friday everyone, and it’s sprinkling outside… tap tap tapping on the roof of our RV. I think my boycott of the summer heat is working! The rains have finally blessed me with a cool early morning walk.
Even though I have no idea for a city of the future, at least not one that any of you want to hear me go on about, I can still be useful to you guys and WordPress. If you are ever in need of a Gorilla Habitat, an upgraded Concession stand, or maybe a specialist in breeding Great Dragons, I got you covered!
Before I take off on my rainy walk along the river, here is Brekkers for everybody… please remember to eat the blueberries, as they are full of antioxidants …
Thought #1 – It’s finally happened! Last night, I actually said out loud that I thought a vegan donut sounded good!
Thought #2 – If I’m eating oatmeal with oat milk, do I refer to it as oatmeal with milk, or Oat Oatmeal?
Thought #3 – How many puppies can I fit in a tiny home? Maybe some are built with a puppy pullout. Hey! I thought of it first, here! Maybe I should go on Shark Tank!
Thought #4 – Wouldn’t it be funny to see your local metro bus with flashy lights, loud music, and those suspension lifter’s on the tires? The kind they put on souped up tiny lawnmower cars? I know that we’ve all seen em bouncing through the intersection on a Friday night. If metro tried to do that, the passengers would all be car sick!
Thought #5 – I know babies only see in black and white, at first. But what about their dreams? If I read a story to my unborn granddaughter, will she dream in color?
Thought #6 – I want raisons in my oatmeal, today. Do I want them bad enough to get dressed and walk down to the store and back?
Thought #7 – That’s twice that I’ve ended up on a thought about oatmeal. It’s crazy how much of our brain is always focused on foods!
Thought #8 – My daughter is getting married tomorrow. I wasn’t invited.
Thought #9 – Forgiveness is eternal, but consequences… those are like ripples in a pond. They must play out until they reach the sandy shore’s of one’s life. I shall wear my choices with as much grace as I can. May God be with her and our son-in-law, as they begin their journey as one! I pray that God extend his umbrella of coverage over them and our soon to be born Sugar Plum… not my will, but thy will be done, father! Amen
Thought #10 – Man! I just realized that if I feel depressed… I can’t even binge eat Ice cream, anymore! Not Fair!
Thought #11 – I want to try dry brush painting, again.
Thought #12 – If I ever get a puppy again, I’m gonna take my new baby to one of those groomers that will color and cut the dog’s fur to look like Tigger, from Winnie The Pooh!
Thought #13 – Learning to forgive is a really good way to learn about being unforgiven by another. Walk a mile takes on a whole new meaning, when it comes to the act of forgiveness.
Thought #14 – God wants me… just the way I am, with all my hurts, scars, sins, mistakes, broken dreams, and bridges on fire!
Thought #15 – By the time I get to thought #15, my heart, mind, and spirit have all met upon shores of peace, resting beneath one so much greater than myself! He is the author of my faith, the healer of my heart, and the One who calls me His own! By the grace of God, I shall rise from the ashes of my own failures to walk beneath my king all the way Home, hand in hand!
This prompt question made me think of that scene in “The Jungle Book” where the vultures keep asking the same question, over and over again… “So, what ya wanna do?”
I have had to explain my name, and/or nickname, so many times now that I’m pretty over it… sorry, not sorry!
Here, have a cookie…
At least I’m not trying to serve you the same cookie, over and over again… or am I?
Thought #1 – If we don’t actually use all of our brain, what does it do all day long?
Thought #2 – Whose idea was it to create the penny, anyway? All we ever do is lose them under seat cushions, or hide them in our car consoles with all the lint, hair, and sticky candy wrappers.
Thought #3 – I want to live in one of those Tiny Homes, with lots of little nooks and recessed windows for growing plants.
Thought #4 – I wonder what my soon-to-arrive grand daughter will look like?
Thought #5 – Wouldn’t things be different if all conflict resolution had to be done while everybody lays with their head on each others stomachs, like we did as kids? All it takes is one tiny giggle, and then the peace talks can begin!
Thought #6 – What if politicians had to do their whole campaign in Pig Latin?
Thought #7 – If the heart is simply an organ used for pumping blood, why does it feel physical pain from emotional hurt? Or, why does the heart flutter and skip all over the place, from just one kiss?
Thought #8 – If love is supposed to be free, why does it cost so much?
Thought #9 – If I laugh at my own jokes, do I still need an audience?
Thought #10 – Lack of gluten and lactose has to be the cause of most wars in one way or another, I think.
Thought #11 – I have to come up with 4 more thoughts, without being irritable.
Thought #12 – My oatmeal won’t make itself, will it? I didn’t think so.
Thought #13 – The pumpkin fields are bursting with color, right now. While they’ve a ways yet to go, their bright orange color can already be seen from the highway.
Thought #14 – I can’t believe that Creed is nearly done with his degree! Only one class left, I think.
Thought #15 – I’m so glad that God captures all of our tears, only to replace them with oceans of His love!
As the old adage states, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it! Since last year’s response to this question hasn’t changed, I’ve opted to pull it up from the archives. Have a blessed day!
While I often write of my desire to do good for those around me, I feel fairly confident that I’ve also mentioned how much I desire to go home. No, this isn’t a cry for help, so relax! I’m speaking of my heavenly home, that’s all. I haven’t felt apart of this world for so long, it’s become rather easy not to dream of things of this life… only that which is to come!
If I sat here all day, thinking on all the empty hours and solitude that I exist within, I guarantee you that there would be no peace available to partake in.
This world is vicious, selfish, petty, cruel, and vindictive! If I only focus on the backbiting, slanderous and nefarious villains loitering on every corner… again, I’d have no peace!
If I wasted all my time dwelling on every mistake, failure and sin that I’ve ever committed… also, no peace!
I’m simply being wholeheartedly honest, in regards to the prompt. I really really do want to go home! I’m tired! I exhausted myself with wasted efforts at being a friend, sister, mother and all around good person, and I was far too tired to have any amount of peace! Trust me… I’ve tried all that!
Now, I’m following God wherever He leads! I know my heavenly home will be there, ready to receive me when I’ve fulfilled whatever purpose I was born to do. No, I don’t really have a clear picture what that purpose is, but as I remain in the word and dwell constantly beneath the shadow of my Father… He is what brings me peace!
Being either a leader or a follower is somewhat like knowing when to add sugar or salt, flour or water. In the end, what you want is a cake that tastes good AND looks good, right?!
It’s been said that to lead, one must first learn to follow. It’s also been said that to get you have to give, to speak well means to listen well, and to do a job well you have to learn the job in the first place… ok, that last one is maybe just one I made up but it seemed fitting.
Anyhow, we are all capable of leading when it’s truly needed, as well as the following bit!
Just follow the instructions on the back of the box, or in my case, what’s in the pages of scripture… just sayin!
While restorations are still ongoing at the barn, I thought to go exploring in the woods this morning just for the fun of it. I’ve also been wanting to take Bailey back to the area where Tilly discovered her beneath that log. For the life of me, I haven’t been able to figure out how the puppies managed to escape from the lobby in the first place, only to then end up in the woods behind our farmhouse. It just seems really strange, you know?
So off we went, the three of us, back down the path from which the mouse and puppy had come, in search of some answers. Well, I went in search for the answers part, while the mouse and puppy mostly chased one another around trees and beneath bushes. Several times, I found myself just watching them play, rather than doing any searching. It actually worked out in my favor, though, because it was during this game that we discovered a hidden trail, just off the main path we’d been traveling.
Being curious, we decided to follow the new trail, though I had to crawl on my hands and knees on several occasions. You try following the path of a mouse, or even a puppy, for that matter! I’m just sayin that it isn’t that easy, that’s all.
Anyways, we didn’t have to travel that far before my eye caught a glimpse of something shiny, further down the path. You’re never going to believe what we stumbled upon, not half an hour’s walk from the farm?
The very carousel that I’d been suggesting we could restore into a garden or something, sat before us in a small glade… for no apparent reason! There was no trace of a carnival passing by, in fact, no roads could be seen anywhere nearby.
While I stood staring in confusion, over why someone would abandon an old piece of machinery in middle of the woods, both Tilly and Bailey disappeared around the back of the carousel. I called out to them, but there was no reply from either… as if they’d simply vanished!
I ran round to where I’d last seen them heading and nearly tripped over my own shoe in surprise…
I kid you not! There was a doorway on the backside of the carousel, standing wide open! Logic said that my two little ones had probably gone through the open passage that I too, felt compelled to enter…
At first, all I could see was a dark corridor with little light available, aside for several ceiling lights that mostly just flickered on and off. I did see a small doorway ajar, further down the passage, and could hear the distant whispers of my two tiny compadres.
When I got to the doorway and pushed it open… everything about the disappearance of the puppies finally made more sense…
Did you know that the Lobby had a back door? I didn’t! Apparently, back behind the archive section is an open doorway… no wonder the puppies got out that way!
I hope you weren’t expecting me to explain all this, because I’m just as confused as you probably are…
Well, at least now we know it’s within easy walking distance of the Barnyard… if you were of a mind to visit, of course!
You don’t see me anywhere, but don’t let your eyes fool you. I’m simply sitting inside the house, drinking my morning coffee. I’ve just been sitting here, listening to the sound of birds singing outside my window. It’s quite peaceful in this place, and I’m finding myself lingering a bit longer each morning, just to listen to the countryside wake itself up!
(In the real world, we await an approval and invitation to accept our housing voucher. They’ve gathered everything they need, paperwork wise, so this is the part where the paper has to walk itself from one place to another, for a whole lot of signatures. Once that’s been completed, we’ll be given an invitation to attend an orientation class, at which time, we’ll receive that physical “Golden Ticket”. Until that occurs… we must wait.)
You won’t believe who showed up yesterday, bounding right in through the front door? Our Auzzee!!!
I’m not sure where he’s been hiding, nor, how he managed to track us down, here at the farm? I don’t think it even matters, really. I’m just so grateful to see the furry little guy, which is sort of strange, don’t you think? He used to have more feathers, as well as different fur… you know, the fur and claws of a cat, remember? Correct me if I’m wrong but, doesn’t he look like sort of like a wooly bear?
See what I mean?! It’s no bother to me, really, as I’m just so relieved to see his adorableness bound into my kitchen this morning!
It won’t be much longer now, and everyone should be back together again, and the barn is coming together wonderfully, as you can see…
Miss Tilly has volunteered herself to be our handyman’s little helper, isn’t she so adorable in her mini-hardhat?
Even Bailey is enjoying all the new hay that we threw across the barn floor…
And, of course, young Squagon is thoroughly enjoying himself, swinging confidently from the rafters,
Yes, Squagon is looking a good deal more like a bat or dragon than the furry baby we first met, but that’s an update for another day. Don’t worry over it, as the little guy is doing quite well, and no worse for ware, after his time alone in the forest. I just think there is more to him than we’d first thought, that’s all.
Anyways, as far as the progression of all the repairs and restoration of the farm, things are going well. With the house pretty much finished, I’ve been looking over the barn and taking meticulous notes, in order to assist our handyman in some of the larger tasks. That’s a bit much to ask of our Tilly, so I stepped in to help.
I think I’ll hang out with him today while he does all the things on my “Honey Do” list. I made sure to put that requirement into the fine print of his contract… I made sure to smile a lot when he was looking over the paperwork, so he just grinned and said, “Mmmhmmm.”
Oh, by the way, my little shadow was successful in locating our misplaced dragon…
Well, he found her, point in fact! Anyways, they’re on their way home now, as we speak! I realize that it may seem rather preposterous that I can know of such a thing, when I’m here with you and they aren’t even back yet, to tell the tale.
Well, to coin a phrase from Guardians of the Galaxy II, “I’m Mary Poppins, Yawl!” Ok, so maybe not totally like that, but suffice it to say, I did it my way… wait, isn’t that Frank Sinatra? Sheesh! Are all the good lines taken, or what? I can’t use It’s my website and I’ll do what I want to, because there’s an old party song that sounds too much like it.
I know, I know… I might not be Mary Poppins, but my site DOES make magic cookies! Yup, yup, yup… I think that will do just fine, wouldn’t you agree?
With that settled, just trust me when I tell you that they’re on their way… I can feel it in my bones!
As you already know, we’ve no actual barn to recover. The valley is simply empty of anything recognizable, and with no markings that I can even decipher!
I’ve basically been using Journey With Me’s RV as my shelter, while searching the woods for those lost to us…
It was the only thing I had available that was big enough to fit all the babies found, thus far. If you’re wondering, little Tilly is fully recovered from the shock of spending those nights by herself, alone in the woods. I have to say that all this fresh air has done the mouse a world of good! She bounced back much more quickly than I’d anticipated.
Now, every time I send her off to play in the meadow she looses her coveralls, loosing them somewhere in the grass. This leaves me to wander across the meadow in search of her things. Well, at least she’s covered in fur, so a little dirt won’t hurt her!
I am, however, very glad that I let her run wild! Tilly wandering about in the woods actually paid off! While I was busy searching one part of the forest, it was our tiny little mouse that found another of our lost ones…
Thank the heavens, we’ve recovered little Bailey! She was quite upset when Miss Tilly found her, howling in misery; covered in mud and twigs. Tilly had to work for nearly an hour to coax the puppy out from beneath the old rotted out log that she’d been hiding.
According to Tilly, the place where she’d discovered Bailey was terribly close to a busy road, with cars frequently zooming past at some speed. Gabriel was nowhere to be seen! Before you get upset and think the wrong thing, it’s not that bad, really. I truly believe that Gabriel will be just fine, and I think you’ll agree with me, once I tell you the rest of what Bailey told Tilly…
In tears, the puppy retold of how a car pulled off the road and an older gentleman got out and picked her brother up in his arms, before the puppy could run back into the woods. Then, the man walked back to the car, opening the back door and handing the puppy over to the outstretched hands of a small child. Then the man climbed back into the car, driving off into the night with Gabriel in the back seat. Bailey tried to run after the car, barking as loudly as she was able… but it was hopeless! She lost sight of the car almost immediately, and found herself completely alone in the dark. The frightened puppy was left to climb under an old log for shelter. There, she cried herself to sleep, cold and alone.
If it weren’t for Tilly’s keen eyes and ears, we may never have found the tiny puppy. Since then, she hasn’t left Tilly’s side for even a moment! The two of them formed a deep connection, ever since the mouse brought her back from the woods…
I suppose I should explain the reason that I left Tilly near the RV, rather than taking her with me. I really needed to search for any trace of either Acorn Valley, or Pinion Valley, which meant that I could be gone for hours. Not only that, it’s hard to focus your concerns and efforts on finding one baby, if your busy tending to another one, if that makes any sense. I desperately needed to look for any sign of Squagon, and the only place I thought to start searching was the valley where the little guy was born. I found the river and followed it for a bit, in the hopes that it would at least lead me in the general direction of Acorn Valley… remember, there was a sizeable river that flowed past that the little squirrel’s family home.
My plan worked like I’d hoped, leading me straight past the park where I’d first discovered Squagon’s kin so long ago, it seems. Sadly, the park was empty of any wildlife, including the Raven Brothers who were nowhere to be found! There’s now a walking bridge that goes from the park to the other side of the river, so I followed it across and headed down an old, long forgotten path. After an hour or so of walking, I came upon a small picnic area beside the path, deciding to stop for a rest. Sitting down at one of the tables, I leaned back against it and closed my eyes, listening to the birds singing in the trees, as I breathed deeply of the fragrant air that drifted past my face.
From somewhere in the trees above my head, I heard the sound of something small land on the table beside me, most probably a pinecone, or a branch. When I opened my eyes to see what had fallen from the tree, I nearly fell off the bench in surprise!
What had fallen from the tree above my head was NOT a pinecone, at all!
It was, in fact, a very glad to see me squirrel, who happens to bear the name of SQUAGON!!!
Now, I realize that he looks different than we’re used to seeing, but you have to understand that the little guy has been flying around in the forest, lost and confused, by all that has happened. Apparently, he awoke one morning to find himself there in that tree, looking across the river at Acorn Valley, where he’d been born. When he searched the park and found it empty, the confused squirrel went looking for the barn, only to discover that it too, had disappeared! In a panic, he went in search of Pinion Valley, and the rest of his family. When the little guy found no one, he had no idea what else to do, so he returned to the place where he’d first woken up, weeks earlier. The only thing he knew to do, was wait for me to come for him, as he apparently knew that I would! Huh!
Anyways, at least we can all breath a sigh of relief… now that he’s safely tucked away, back at the camper with the rest of his barn mate’s that have we’ve recovered, so far. It’s been good for them to have each other nearby for comfort and reassurance…
I apologize for Boomer being absent, but he’s still rather grumpy and stand-offish. Something’s been really bothering the dragon, ever since Tilly brought Bailey back to the camp without Gabriel accompanying them, too. All that I can think to do here, is to wait. We’ll have to give him more time to come ’round, that’s all!
Speaking of which, it’s time that I come ’round to ending this note. Keep your eyes on the horizon for the return of our beloved Eustace, as well as the return of mini-me with our mighty dragon, Brutus… never say never, right?!
Journey With Me! 