Tag: wildlife

(2023) The Valley of the Acorn King…

Wiwohka4 Comments

(Even though I may love our little apartment, I still miss that park, the squirrels, and even that silly old broken down R.V.)

I choose my local park, hands down, as my favorite place!

While I’m sure the local squirrels love anyone who gives them peanuts, I choose to believe that they love mine the best. Due to my absolute love and fascination of these small ones, my husband has now moved to buying Biggie size bags of peanuts… it has become my mission to ensure full tummies and fluffy tails through the cold months.

Most days you will find me walking along the path with a string of boisterous chatterboxes darting between my feet. These little ones show no fear whatsoever… only excited anticipation of the treats they know to be forthcoming.

I’ve become so fond of these fluffy characters, stories began to form in my mind of their miniature world. In a way, a squirrel’s life is much less complicated than a humans… but is it really? In other ways, the life of these tiny creatures is far more harsh than ours is… but is it really? Writing stories for squirrels using human nature as the reality of their social structure is rather easy.

The park is massive, holding 4 large sports fields used in the warmer months, a large Tennis court that keeps busy nearly all year long, and multiple trails running through several playgrounds and down all along the White River. For a smaller community, this park gets a great amount of use, and a great amount of care. The city puts forth a great amount of effort to maintain and care for this place and that makes my heart happy.

Living in a house with wheels means that we may not always be in this particular location, in close proximity to such a beautiful and peaceful place. For me, the beauty and peace are not limited to just one place… no matter where our wheels come to rest, God always gives me a park and/or a trail to walk… always! Here’s the tricky part… I have to be looking.

It’s rather funny that I’ve known about this park for years and never walked it’s paths. I lived in this very same city over 10 years ago… not 5 blocks from where we are at the moment, never once walking beneath it’s trees. I wasn’t looking… but I am now! In a way I suppose that God has used this park, and these creatures to work part of His healing in my wounded spirit. This is a wonderful part of nature that draws me to return time and again… I see my Fathers hand everywhere my eyes look. From the smell of the earth, to the sounds of the world around me… from the antics of the squirrels to the laughter of the children playing… From the warmth of the sunshine to the bitter cold of winter… I see His hand in all of it.

Long story short, the local park is my Jam…

Here, have a cookie…

These were gifted to us by Acorn Valley’s most talented royal Chef, Rollina MutterNut.

(March 2023) Hey Bob

Wiwohka5 Comments

So, here is a funny story!  I love the outdoors and if I can help it, I am out there as much as possible.  I make an effort to take a walk nearly every day, and I have a route that I have used for some time now.  I do a good amount of thinking on these morning jaunts, as I call them.  Sometimes it can be very productive, but at other times, I let my mind just wander to relax.  On one of these such relaxing mornings, I hatched a plan, that in my mind, would be very funny to any that were involved.  I have a great many squirrels that I encounter on a regular basis, and I was going to recruit them for this idea.

I came up with a plan to simply begin saying hello, out loud, to every squirrel I encountered and give each a random name, as if I actually know them.  I thought that if I did this, eventually, the passersby that frequently saw me, would begin to think that maybe I knew the squirrels.  I could simply wait for the time when someone would stop me to ask how I knew all of the squirrels names, and I could then say, “Oh no, I have no idea, I just thought it would be funny”. I didn’t say that it WOULD be funny, I just imagined it would be funny.

The next morning, I headed out onto the trail, thoroughly tickled with myself, for what I thought would be an extremely funny idea.  Honestly, I giggled to myself all the way down the block as I began looking for my first unwitting participant (a squirrel, that is).  I got about a half hour into my trek, playing over and over in my head how it would play out, and then I spotted a squirrel.

I learned two things that morning.  Number one, I discovered that, apparently, a lot of squirrels share the name Bob.  Number two, Peanuts!  I should have brought peanuts.  My recommendation is that we not engage in conversation with wildlife, unless we bring some sort of food offering.  I think someone else may have been conditioning these guys way before I ever thought up my ridiculous idea!

Here is how it went down…I saw the squirrel, I approached confidently, thinking how funny this was gonna be, I called out, “Hey Bob”, and before I knew it I was being chased down the trail by three hungry squirrels.  I felt like it happened in slow motion…lol…I spoke, our eyes connected, they looked hungry, I had nothing but a coffee tumbler and a tissue, Coffee over Heathens I say!   I did not care how absolutely ridiculous I must have appeared to onlookers.  I actually think I may have laughed out loud at myself, but I did not care!  I walked a different route for two days after that to let them forget me hopefully.

I still see the same three squirrels on the trail regularly, and the accusation is still there on those furry little faces… Where Are OUR Peanuts!!!!

Barnyard Business

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Today, the girls are out picking pine bows from the forest near the barn. Dinky makes a path with her chubby little tail so that Miss Tilly can travel without being buried underneath the snow.

You may be wondering why on earth they want pine bows if we’ve already put our tree up inside the barn? Well, I must back things up a bit, to when Brutus and I flew to Pinion Valley several weeks ago, in order to visit with young Squagon.

I haven’t written about our visit until now, for several reasons. The main reason for holding back, quite frankly, is because of Me… and the second being that I have the morale of the babes to think about! It’s been very difficult to keep up a brave face for all the little ones, as well as for you, regarding the disappointing news that Squagon will NOT be celebrating Christmas with us!

I’d seriously hoped that my visit would produce a kingly approval for Squagon to come home for the holidays… at least that’s what I wanted to be writing about, once I got back to the barn.

Epic fail there, I’m afraid!

I spoke at length with Squagon’s Grandfather, the Pinion King, but he would not agree to the visit! The king kindly but firmly refused to allow the young prince’s absence during their valley’s own Holiday festivities.

You see, young Squagon has many duties during the Pinion Valley’s winter season, which are a vital part of his royal education.

It was explained that the young prince must be visibly active in service to the needy, sick, and injured folk living in their valley. Winter can be especially difficult for those in need…

There’s also a lengthy requirement of assisting the caregivers that run the valley’s orphanages, leading the little ones in a great many Pinion traditions, one of which is decorating a holiday tree. Surprisingly, they are very familiar with who Santa is… go figure!

Honestly, I’d no idea there was so much that went into being a royal squirrel! Though I’m quite sad about Squagon’s absence at our barn, I couldn’t help feeling terribly proud of the young squirrel. He behaved so grown up and respectful, it was like he was a totally different squirrel… yet not!

I mean, Squagon still looked like himself, but now he also looked and acted like his grandfather, carrying himself with such dignity and royal bearing. I know this sounds ridiculous to say, but it felt like my baby had somehow grown up without me realizing it, until that very moment!

At the same time, it was a sad acceptance of the reality that the young squirrel isn’t my actual child… he never was, really. I suppose it simply felt like he was mine, after all the sleepless nights, unending bottle feedings, and watching all the little guy’s firsts. You know, the first night of full sleep, first steps, and the first time he called my name. Those memories will always remain, and I would do it all again, even now, after I have to let him go.

I shall cherish the time that we had together and he’ll always have a place at the barn, there beneath my desk. But Squagon is a squirrel… and a prince, no less!

Besides, I didn’t say we’d never see him again… just not until after the holidays are over. This is just all part of growing up! I can assure you that he’ll be back, if only for visits.

Speaking of visits, before Brutus and I flew back to the barn, we spent a good hour with Squagon, just the three of us. It was truly a wonderful little visit, listening to the little prince share all about the things he’d been learning, and then filling him in on all the goings on at the barn. I had to recite all the messages from the babes and then write down his responses to each of them, in turn. By the end of the visit, I knew that Squagon was where he belonged, though I still saw the conflict within his eyes… that bittersweet feeling of wanting to come home, yet knowing he must stay.

I cried the whole flight home to the barn. I still get teary just writing about it, how silly is that?

But, back to this morning, I can now explain why Miss Tilly and Dinky are out in the woods, collecting pine bows. After getting my crying out of the way during the flight home, both Brutus and I put on brave faces for the babes before landing in the barnyard.

Once we’d handed out all the little notes I’d written down from Squagon, I gave the bad news about Christmas. After all the tears subsided from learning that he wouldn’t be coming home, Miss Tilly offered up a wonderful idea to brighten the mood. She suggested we all work together to put Christmas in a box, if you will, and then have Brutus fly it to Pinion Valley!

Now you know why a mouse and a baby dragon are pickin up sticks in the snow. While they’re doing that, I’ve got Lilly helping the boys bake peanut cookies, along with pistachio flavored homemade playdough…

Come on, everyone knows we end up putting some in our mouths… just to see what it really tastes like!