Tag: fiction

Tuesday Tinkering…

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While I’m not in the mood for writing today, there is always room for tinkering, right?!

Remember when you were little and stuck in the house for whatever reason, with nothing to do but entertain yourself? We didn’t have cell phones, tablets, or computers when I was little. There was a radial phone attached to the wall in the kitchen, and we had one of those televisions that were encased in half a tree. Those old televisions didn’t come with cable, so forget Netflix, YouTube, or even a video recorder. Music came out of our car radio and television was only for Saturday morning cartoons and Sunday night Disney specials… otherwise, it was meant for the grown-ups.

So…. what did we all do for fun when left to our own devices? I don’t know about the boys, but us girls played dress-up! We loved to sneak into our mother’s closet and pretend to be a grown-up, stumbling around in her high-heeled shoes, tripping over the hem of the dress we’d been parading around in. My mother was an avid Avon customer, having boxes under the bathroom sink that were filled with sample lipsticks and perfumes. By the time I was finished with my self-makeover masterpiece, I both looked and smelled like an old French whore, as some might say.

Well, I’m far older and no longer even wear make-up or fancy dresses. I probably don’t own more than half a dozen outfits, mostly sweats… and high-heels left the building years ago! Thanks to modern technology, I’m able to enjoy a little playtime, sort of like I did as a child, but virtually! Back then it was dress up for myself and my baby dolls, alone in my bedroom. Today, I use a computer program to create beautiful, imaginative and entertaining things… and I get to see myself as the younger me, the way I remember.

Not just me, but you get to see all the barnyard babes going and doing things that I don’t get to do in the real world. Speaking of going and doing things, we’ve been adrift for days without the tiniest bit of wind to fill our sails. It’s been stiflingly hot in the cabins below deck, but brutally hot on deck, where the sails hang limp and useless. With nothing to do, compounded by the discomfort of the heat, all crew have holed up in the galley. It’s mid level of the ship, and nearest our water supply. Plus, I built a make-shift wading pool for us to put our feet in, for a little relief.

I think the nautical term for things is called Doldrums, not that it makes things any better in the knowing of such a term. I don’t even know what brought it to mind. Since we’re all too hot to touch each other, let alone don a bunch of hot and cumbersome outfits out of a smelly old chest, I pulled out my laptop… yes, I do happen to have a magic laptop that has an imaginary extension cord attached to it, so what! Think inner child, here…

It all started with Nugget! Well, a picture of today’s dress-up star, as I needed a volunteer subject. Who better to tinker with than our quirky little sailher… get it? Sail her, Sailher! Well, hopefully you got it…

Anyways, back to our magic make-over session, for today’s tinkering adventures! In the editing section of my AI program there’s this drop down list labeled “Stylize”. It’s where you can choose from a number of color/style/backdrop environments to enmesh with your character/model. I’ve never really used it before, due to being so picky about facial expressions and the mix between realism and whimsical in nature… basically, I’m a control freak with an overactive imagination. At times, I really do feel sorry for my AI assistant!

I took the above image of Nugget and simply began going through the list, making two images in each template, with the creativity setting on 7 out of 10. The higher the number, the more creativity I give over to the AI. It would take all day for me to run you through the dozen or so templates, so I’ll just show you some of the ups and downs and then my favorites, if you’re still actually here. I’m bored, ok! So suck it up Buttercup, as I like to say, and enjoy the goofy pics…

While they were fun to play with, it was merely for testing out of this particular feature, not for altering Nugget, in any fashion… get it? Fashion… oh, for Pete’s sake! I refuse to give disclaimers each time I do an incredibly corny play on words! I can’t help it that I am married to a man who loves to turn everything into a bad Dad Joke… it’s worn off on me, I think.

As far as the future use of this particular tool, I’m not so sure I like it for much of what I do, but it did render some positive results, as far as enhancing a backdrop or something like that. I’ve noticed that the program has a tendency to alter the appearance of my character’s face, or replace my model for an entirely different one, which isn’t what I wanted. Unfortunately, I also discovered that it only works on artificial characters… it doesn’t recognize my character, nor Mini-me or even the puppy, Bailey. Mainly, it worked with artificial and animated creatures. At least, it was the overall result from today’s two hour tinkering session.

Out of the entire experience, I really only found one image that was able to really hold onto Nugget’s key facial features, well, maybe two. I’ll show them both and let you decide…

Treasure!

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We found something!

I’m learning that sometimes getting lost isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe that’s the secret to finding your way… who knows?!

All I know is that I’m glad we did lose our bearings during that storm, or else we might never have traveled in the direction we did, nor would we have discovered the tiny, lone island, out in the middle of nowhere…

But, is it really nowhere? If you get to a place and find something already there that was left by another… wouldn’t that mean it has to be somewhere, not nowhere?

Well, we did find something that someone else left behind. I don’t think it’s considered stealing if the item was simply abandoned, and left in the sand. I mean, it’s not like the island belongs to anyone specifically, as there’s nobody living there, nor has anyone been on that island for some time. Aside from the treasure itself, there wasn’t anything else on the island, other than some palm trees and sandy beaches. I don’t think it was much bigger than a city park and not a very big one, at that! The only reason we anchored there was to repair some of the damage done from the storm.

After the repairs were completed, I thought it was would be fun to do a little exploring on the island. There wasn’t much there, but it still felt good to get off the ship and walk in the warm sand for a bit. The babes played and played and played, chasing each other from one end of the island to the other, laughing and squealing with delight! Finally, when they’d completely worn themselves out, everyone simply collapsed in the sand to rest… all except for one, Dinky!

In all the activity, I’d not noticed her absence. It wasn’t like she could go very far since the island was so tiny. All I had to do was look around, right? She should have been there, but she wasn’t! I ran back to the ship to see if she’d stayed onboard when we went to play on the beach. She wasn’t there, either. In a panic, I began calling out her name, but I still got no response… Dinky wasn’t anywhere to be found!

All the babes came running when they heard me calling Dinky’s name. Boomer was a wreck! Immediately, everyone began walking from one end of the island to the other, calling out her name. I knew that we should have been able to see her without having to go anywhere, but it occurred to me that she may have fallen in a hole, possibly. Maybe that’s why we couldn’t see or hear her, beings that she was so very tiny.

And, yes! The little dragon did fall into a hole… a rather large one, actually. There she was, just sitting there smiling up at us. There, beside Dinky, was something that I can only describe as a priceless treasure!

Now, you may be thinking that we found a chest of gold, silver, and rare jewels. Isn’t that generally what pirate’s like to bury in the sand on remote desert islands, hidden in the heart of the sea? That would have been my first guess, anyway. Well, before you start thinking that it was money, I’ll stop you. It wasn’t money at all, but if you were to ask me its worth… I wouldn’t be able to give you an exact number. Why? Because, a things worth has to do with the value one places on it! I think that it mostly depends on the things one considers to be worth holding onto. While I saw priceless, someone else left this treasure behind… abandoned it, really!

Why on earth was this treasure left behind? Yes, it was rather unusual looking, but I like things that are different. I suppose that some might find it of no good use, but I love to find purpose in things. I think that this treasure was left behind out of fear… fear of something different, something one doesn’t understand. Fear can make us do things we never thought we might do, say things we never thought we might say, and sometimes, cause others pain, neglect, and/or abandonment. In the case of this treasure… I think that’s exactly what happened!

Part of me wants to show you what we found, right this very moment, but I’m not sure how you might react. Will you think me a fool? Will you deny it’s value, once you see what it is? What if it fills you with fear or revulsion, instead of awe and wonder? That’s a possibility, you know. What I think about a thing’s value may be far different than what you imagine it should. I’m still not even sure what it is, exactly, but I’m still taking it onboard with us… that’s how valuable I think it is!

Ok! Don’t freak out or anything…

Now, I may not know the whys of this treasure being left behind, nor do I know the whats or whos or whens, yet… but I will! That’s the beauty of this whole voyage… we can take as long as we wish to get where we need to go, right?!

Only Three? No fair…

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Daily writing prompt
List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?
View all responses

Now, I know you might think that I’m going to say ‘the bible’ for my first choice, here… but you’d be wrong! Ok, not entirely wrong.

When I saw this mornings prompt, I did plan to give that as my first answer, at first! But, here’s the problem I encountered when I sat down to write out my response to the above question… the why part!

First of all, do you realize how many books I’ve read over the last 56 years? I wouldn’t be able to answer that question, myself. Goodness! I’ve read and re-read so many books over the years, whether they be fiction or non-fiction. The sheer number of adventurous stories I collected and filed into my memory banks must be staggering! Where do you think my love of writing was born? Dreaming! What filled my dreams? Those fictional adventures brought my imagination to life, I think.

Unfortunately, life has a tendency to suck all the fun and adventure out of things, so survival called for moving beyond fantasy toward the pursuit of the truth. Endless hours were spent pouring through all manner of Christian and/or Secular volumes of self-help, self-improvement, and self-validation books. Some helped and some didn’t. One particular book did, in fact, help. Yes, this is the place where you can say, “see, we knew you were going to say the Bible.”

But did I? Can we even do that? Well, I suppose we could, but the real question here might be… should we?

Did you know that the Bible, itself, is not really just one single book? Technically, it’s a collection of 66 different books, some quite small and others quite lengthy… but still!

Of all the differing books I’ve read over these many years, those 66 books have been invaluable to me at one time, or another. I’m fairly certain that if you were to ask me this same prompt question at a different time, my answer would be different. Well, ok, I confess that the Psalms will always be in my heart, so I guess that one will always be on the list, though I cannot say whether it would be number 1, 2, or 3. As I said, it would probably depend on when you asked me the question.

Since we know that one of the three books has already been set in stone, so to speak, now what? How can I not go straight to the gospels? But, how am I to decide which of those books impacted me the most? Matthew, Mark, Luke or John… can one actually decide between the four? Well, I couldn’t… I can’t… in truth, I don’t want to!

It didn’t even help trying to pick the Old Testament or the New Testament… way too much valuable stuff in both!

Personally, I look to the entirety of the old testament for our history, as it’s important to remember. We all want to know who we are and where we came from, don’t we? Aren’t there currently a number of DNA mail in organizations out there that make a ton of profit from those wanting to know their family’s genealogy? My point here is that we all find our history important! The old testament has 39 books to choose from, and I’ve already said that Psalms is on my list of three, so there’s still 38 more books to pick and we haven’t even begun to talk about the books in the New Testament. What about Paul’s writings, or Timothy’s, or James, or John? See my problem?

If I were to actually take even one of these books and write an explanation of how it impacted my life, we’d need a lot more time and a lot more cookies!

In answer to the prompt

books one, two, and three

They’re all within scripture

so I can’t choose, you see…

Cookie?

Lost at sea…

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We have a cabin filled with maps, navigational charts, and all manner of nautical doohickeys… and we still managed to get ourselves lost! One would think that having a dragon about would count for something. Not when he can’t fly out and search for our landmarks.

Currently, the dragon is grounded to my cabin… well, not really grounded. It’s more like seclusion for his own safety. After the incident we had the other day, it’s best for everyone involved that the dragon not be out and about, right now. Maybe I should back up a bit…

It all started with a storm, and a mighty one it was…

This old ship groaned, creaked, and sprang leaks from stem to stern, but she held! Thank goodness for the workmanship of those old time craftsmen. Truly, this ship was built to withstand the seas cruelest of winds, and most powerful waves. The problem, however, wasn’t the wind nor the waves. It was the rocks…

It was good that the ship could hold out the water, but I was more worried about the wind and where it was carrying us. We were utterly helpless and at the mercy of the fierce winds for hours, while they ruthlessly pushed us toward destruction…

We never had a chance to safely stow our sails before the storm hit, leaving useless and in tatters. When I didn’t things could get any worse… they did! We found ourselves under attack from pirates…

Our attackers used large grappling hooks to tear into our ship’s timbers, locking onto her sides like hungry eels. Just as they began to board us Brutus came roaring out of the galley with mouth open and teeth bared. The dragon’s sudden intake of breath sent the pirates scrambling back over the edges of the ship in fear for their lives…

I’ve told you that Brutus is a big boy… well, maybe that wasn’t the truest description…

When the dragon is at his full size, he towers over our very ship like it were a mere plaything. That’s the reason for his usual doglike size. Otherwise, the ship would simply sink under the weight of a mighty dragon.

Anyways, back to our pirate predicament…

Depending on who you ask, Brutus may or may not have, kind of sort of, lit a good number of pirate ships on fire… well, it all happened so fast that I can honestly say that I didn’t actually see anything happen… honest! I was so busy collecting crew that were scattered about the ship, I didn’t know the ships were on fire until I smelled the smoke in the air.

At first, I thought it was our vessel burning, and nearly dropped Bailey over the side of the ship when our sails miraculously caught a gust of wind, propelling our ship away from the flames as if we’d been shot out of a cannon!

With ships burning in the distance that grew between us, I looked to see that our sails were being filled by the breath of a familiar dragon. Brutus was using his mighty lungs and wings to push us to safety!

Somehow, the dragon managed to direct our ship toward a gap in those islands we’d been crashing towards, just before the pirates attacked. There, we made anchor in the dark, to simply wait out the storm and pray for dawn.

Dawn’s first light saw us making a hasty retreat into deeper waters, hoping to put as much distance from our adversaries as possible, though we saw no trace of our pursuers, nor any evidence of the battle that had taken place, only the night before.

The waters didn’t say empty for long, however, as I’m certain that there were survivors… and I’m sure they told tales of a mighty dragon. By the next day, there were numerous ships of varying allegiances. I could only presume that they were searching for this so called dragon…

My only option was to flee into uncharted waters, seeking to lose ourselves within the sea, itself…

Sometimes, getting lost is actually the best way to get where your going… at least that’s what I’m learning.

So, now you know why Brutus is sticking below decks for the time being. Now is not the time for having a massive dragon flying around your ship, you know? We’d stick out like a sore thumb, if you know what I mean.

For now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’m going to stay lost, I think…

Monday Messages…

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It’s funny how dreamy one gets when living aboard a ship full time. Days and nights lose all sense of time, in terms of minutes and hours. Our days simply move between daybreak and sunset. Things also become reliant on the weather cooperating. If the winds are kicked up and the waters get rough, we spend our time within the ship’s comfortable cabins. Those are days for baking, stitching holes in little socks… and storytelling, which I happen to be rather good at. Needless to say, I think that the babes prefer the stormy days to the sunny ones.

This morning finds me sitting in my cabin, with great plans of writing some grand adventure quickly drifting away with the breeze. While I have many things I could write about, its all I can do to keep myself sitting here, as I can hear the crew having so much fun out on deck!

As you can see, the dragons have taken charge of everything above deck! While I am grateful that they’ve taken that part off my hands, I think it has more to do wind and wings than it does about work… if you know what I mean…

I can’t tell you how many times Brutus has had to pull one of the babes out of the waves. Squagon is the worse, by far! You know, the sea air has even gotten Nugget up on deck…

For a dreamer who normally finds joy in existing within my bedside drawer, life on the water has made her more outgoing.

While our winged babes take pleasure above deck, learning all they can from Brutus about everything nautical, the other babes spend more time below deck.

Lilly tends to spend all her time going over the maps on my desk. She’s always been rather good at puzzles and riddles, so I suppose that she sees all our maps and clues as just that… pieces of a bigger puzzle.

She’s working on a successful course that might lead us to the whereabouts of our missing troll, Peanut.

There’s plenty to keep the rest of the babes happily occupied, what with baking, and things of that sort…

I think that they play more than bake, if I’m being fully honest. Oh well, it makes them happy, which in turn, makes me happy!

And now you see why I’ve gotten nothing done this morning, aside from rambling on about our daily comings and goings. I suppose this is what it should be like, anyway. How else are you supposed to know what’s going on aboard our ship, while we sail the high seas? Getting to where one is going takes time. Who on earth would want to simply read the introduction to a story, only to turn the page and find that they’ve already arrived at the conclusion? That would be so boring and unfulfilling.

If I’m to write anything of value for this mornings Monday Message, it would be this:

The getting to a place isn’t what an adventure is about. It’s about all the things that happen while you’re getting there…

Today we set sail… again!

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Ok! Once again, we’re all loaded onto the ship and ready to set sail for distant shores. All that is, except for young Henry, the very mouse that we sailed all the way up the river to locate. Why? Well, young Henry has responsibilities to his aging parents that require him to remain at home. Before you start worrying that Tilly will be broken hearted, Brutus saved the day, once again. He’s given Tilly his word that whenever she wants to go and spend time with Henry and his family, Brutus will fly her home and stay til she’s ready to come back. See… problem solved!

Do you know that it’s taken all day to get ready for leaving port, just so that all the babes could pick out their best sailing outfits? I’m not joking! The worst of them was Eustace and Bailey, which I never expected. It’s all about the shoes, according to those two…

I advised Eustace that his choice of enormous backpack and fur lined flip flops would most assuredly cause him to loose his balance and end up over the side of the ship, so we compromised…

Much better!

Now Bailey was more about dressing like a lady, than wearing something that might give off the wrong impression at some port that we visit…

I warned her that she might be mistaken for a caravan belly dancer with these sandals.

As I am Baileys mamma, so to speak, it’s my job to protect her reputation. I like these shoes, because she looks well insulated…

She threatened to stay home, so we had to agree on something we both felt happy with…

There, she can show a little bit of toe… but no more than that and absolutely no ankle showing!

The rest of the babes chose their own outfits and I didn’t even have to say much, at all!

Since we’ve been aboard our ship, Squagon has taken to stretching his ears up into his horns. I know that he looks up to Brutus and all, but I don’t want him to grow up too fast, you know? When I asked him to tone it down a bit, he was quick to adjust them…

Awwwww…. now, there’s my sweet boy!

What is the deal with all the fancy ankle cuffs… sheesha!

Nugget’s favorite snack is honey, so you can see what the problem might be.

While I think the outfit is absolutely adorable… still not gonna work with sticky fingers.

I know it takes more work to keep the hat on, but that’s what ears are for, so it’ll do. Once we settled on the hat, it was easy to get Nugget to lose the sleeves.

Lilly didn’t want to wear anything at all, aside from the hat…

I didn’t want her to get sunburned, though..

Much better, little lady!

Oh, and Tilly?

She’s gonna be just fine… it’s as if she’s a different mouse, ya know?!

Check out Dinky and Boomer…

They chose each others hats.

Why no shoes? Well, Duh! Dragon’s don’t wear shoes, do they.

Anyway, now that everyone’s finally ready to go, let’s do this!

The first order of business is to determine our course. After that, we’re free to set sail. Where will we go first, you might be wondering? Well, without going into too much detail, what I can tell you is that we have a map. If we can successfully navigate to the correct location marked on the map, there is someone waiting… someone who was left behind, just like our young Henry.

This time, however, we shall be traveling for the sake of another… for my grandson, actually. You see, when his family had to move to a new home, they left someone behind. When we talked about his missing friend, the idea came to me that we should seek the little guy out, because it seemed like the right thing to do. No one should feel alone… no one!

His name is Peanut, and yes, he’s a troll. Please don’t judge the little guy to harshly for being a troll. He’s really sweet, honest!

I’ve actually met him, you know. I spied him one day, hiding in the ditch beside my grandson’s house. He’d been watching the children play in their yard, quietly wishing he might join them… I could see it in his adorable eyes. For a time, I actually passed notes back and forth between my grandson and the tiny troll. I believe that’s where their friendship started.

Anyway, I thought to go in search of the little guy, in hopes of inviting him to stay at the barn. We have tons of room now, what with the barn being renovated and expanded. This way, my grandchildren can come and visit him at the barn whenever they wish. Plus, the lonely little troll will have all the babes for company, as well. No more being alone.

A journey such as this seems fitting for our first voyage, wouldn’t you agree?

Wish us luck…

Love is a powerful thing…

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Tilly is something else! The young mouse is quite the adept navigator, so it seems. Well, at least she is when it comes to her heart!

I can’t say whether it was Tilly’s sharp memory, incredible sense of smell, or her natural way of seeing the forest that navigated us to proper spot, but she got us there! In the search for young Henry, I don’t know why I ever thought that a map would be needed, what with a love sick mouse onboard.

Love is a funny thing… and powerful, too!

So often, love enables us to do things we didn’t think were possible. In Tilly’s case, it was locating young Henry without any maps. Somehow, within hours of landing upon the banks of a familiar river, we found what had once been lost to us… or more specifically, what had been lost to our miss Tilly!

Climbing onto the tiny river boat we’d brought with us, we set to work paddling upstream, in search of clues. After only an hour of paddling, we managed to get ourselves stuck on a sandbar, right in the middle of the river.

There I was, hip deep in the river, trying to dislodge the boat from where it was stuck in the sand, when shouts broke out in the boat. Shouting, and jumping up and down, which rocked the boat so hard that it broke free from the sand. Luckily, I caught hold of the boat and gave it a good push toward the riverbank, where it once again became lodged in the sand. At least we were no longer in the middle of the river.

Amidst all the squeals of delight among my crew, I noticed a very emotional little mouse onboard. Tilly was crying her eyes out and waving at someone behind me, on the opposite river bank.

And just like that, there he was…

What are those odds?

Love really is a powerful thing, wouldn’t you agree?! When one experiences it, whether in the giving or the receiving, the world is so much brighter!

For the sake of love…

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Since we have a boat, and we have the freedom of the seas to travel, the world is our oyster! Only one problem… not everyone is here, yet!

If you’re wondering who we’re missing, as all the babes are on board, let me explain. Remember last winter, just before the barnyard and babes disappeared? If you recall, our young miss Tilly met a boy in the forest, while she and Dinky were gathering pine bows. Well… he was sort of overlooked in all the chaos of tracking down all my lost ones. I feel awful about it, especially since it has caused Tilly such heartache! I found her below deck this morning, crying herself silly. She tried to settle herself when I approached, but the moment I sat down beside her, the mouse began to bawl again, and didn’t stop til she fell asleep in my arms. As she was drifting off to sleep, mingled in amongst the tearful snuffles, I could hear her whispering the name “Henry”… and it all came rushing back to me, in an instant! We’d forgotten all about young Henry and his family at the old Church down the road from our barn.

How could I have overlooked them? I felt awful! You guys, we have to search for them, before any adventuring can happen. There is absolutely no way that we can have any fun with a love sick mouse aboard…

I don’t know about you but that face makes my heart hurt, and Tilly deserves to be happy. So, stow all the supplies… weigh anchor… lift the sails…

We make for the river that leads inland, toward the place we’d found young Squagon, remember? Somewhere out there is a young mouse that we simply must find…

Where are you, young Henry? There is a mouse who loves you so…

Let us set sail for the sake of love, shall we?

Barnyard Recovery…

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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?!

Barnyard Business…

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Messages…

When I opened the barn door this morning, there were babes running around everywhere, squealing in excitement about something, of which I had yet to understand. That is, for all of about 15 seconds! 

I heard some very important words rise up from all the chaos…

Above the ruckus, came the familiar names of both Tilly and Squagon, put to song, as they danced about the room. Then the entire barn would switch from that song, over into songs about Christmas, oddly enough! 

Looking about, I spied miss Tilly over in the corner of the room, turning in circles with a dreamy look upon her face.  As for everyone else, well, they were all taking turns at climbing on a hay bale, for a chance to be flown around the barn… and by none other than, guess who? 

Boomer, that’s who! 

He must have learned to fly, at some point…  

Most probably, while being launched over the pond last week, Boomer has now figured out how to do exactly that… fly! 

All I could do for several moments, was stand there in the middle of the barn watching, with my mouth hanging open in surprise. Thankfully, the babes were only being flown around inside the barn, and safely above the hay that’s covering the floor. Boomer isn’t strong enough to carry his friends for long, before loosing his grip and dropping them. 

*Note to self* set up some barn rules about flying, especially with each other!

As I got my bearings, what with all the goings on in the room, I noticed both Brutus and our Lilly, sitting quietly in the midst of everything… simply waiting for things to settle down. 

Brutus sat holding two pieces of mail, with miss Lilly balanced upon his shoulder wearing my favorite reading glasses.  No, ants don’t usually need glasses, but you know miss Lilly, always doing things her own way.  She looked adorable, I must say!

Anyway, after untangling Dinky from one of my legs and baby Maurgarite from the other, I made my way across the room to collect the letters that had caused all the morning’s excitement.  Taking the messages from Brutus, I saw that the first had come from Pinion Valley, and the second was actually from the North Pole… No wonder the barn was up in arms!

I, myself, was taken aback at the letter from Santa. Not only am I nowhere near ready for Christmas, as of yet, but the letter wasn’t even addressed to me… it was addressed to Tilly! 

I hadn’t even considered that Santa would call on my tiny friend again, after delivering her to the barn just this last spring! It hasn’t even been a year since she arrived, and the thought of her leaving already, well, I just can’t imagine it! 

Thankfully, after reading the entire letter from Santa, he’s just borrowing Tilly for the delivering of gifts to those chimneys that are too small for him, which does make a great deal of sense, I suppose. Santa made it clear that Tilly would only be gone from the barn for several days, just before Christmas. The elves need to make the final adjustments on her outfit, along with the tiny safety belt being installed in Santa’s sleigh… you know how important details are to the elves. They’re even giving her a quick elf-in-training class, which they offer each year in the workshop. 

At the end of the letter, Santa assured me that Tilly would be home by Christmas morning, with plenty of time for opening gifts. Everyone knows that Santa keeps his promises, so I see nothing to worry about, really. Tilly will be in good hands.

Placing the letter back into it’s envelope, I handed it to miss Tilly, since it did belong to her, after all.

The second letter came from Pinion Valley, from the Royal House, itself! Shakily, I opened the letter…

It was an official letter, inviting me to attend Squagon’s first ceremony of Royal Robes (classes on how to behave as a Prince). Brutus and I will be flying to Pinion Valley on Saturday night, so that we might enjoy the festivities of their Royal Nut Festival… it’s the banquet being given in Squagon’s honor! 

Sunday, after the ceremony has finished, Brutus and I will have the whole of the afternoon to spend with Squagon, freely.  I can’t wait! I miss Squagon so much that I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep a wink til then… 

No wonder the barn has been partying all morning!

If Boomer were bigger and stronger, I would join the babes on that silly hay bale, hoping to catch a ride! 

Fortunately, for all our sakes, I won’t be doing that… I’ll just give piggy back rides for now. My dragon ride will have to wait for Saturday night!