Who Goes There?

 

            Rick’s kind of an old-school guy in some ways. So, this Monday morning, as he settled down at his desk, he had the Monday paper in one hand and his coffee in the other. It was still nice and quiet in the ranger station office. Dexter hadn’t appeared. All serene.
            Then he opened the paper, scanned the local front page type news, including the national catastrophes. He turned the page, and began to read some local stuff. Ho-hum!  
            One headline came at him like a bolt out of the blue.

Honey Bear Sighted in Maple Heart Campground

            Rick sat up straight! Maple Heart Campground was right where he was sitting right that very second. This was news to Rick, as well as to readers of the Milltown news.
            “What’s a Honey Bear, for Heaven’s sake?” Rick asked himself. But he had a bad squirrely feeling in the very bottom of his gut. He read on.
            The character who said he saw the Honey Bear, was a farmer from flyover country visiting the PNW. Now, he didn’t explain what one was, but apparently it was important enough to get ahold of the sheriff’s dept and make a report.
            “But not me?” said Rick. He read on. This sighting had occurred in the evening. OK. So, He hadn’t been in the office. OK.
            Dexter arrived on lightly tripping feet with a goofy look on his face.
            “What’s a Honey Bear? You got any idea?” said Rick.
            “Um. Kid’s cereal?” said Dexter.
            “Nope. Some goober says he saw one Saturday night in the camp here. It was enough of a big deal for him to call the sheriff’s dept and make a report. You don’t suppose..?” said Rick, staring off into the middle distance and feeling his sense of ease draining away.
            “You’re thinking that might be farmer talk for one of these Forest People?” said Dexter, losing the goofy grin. “Maybe you better talk to Ralph.”
            “Yeah, we know who’s really the boss around here,” agreed Rick.
            Therefore, Rick went out to his service vehicle, took a seat behind the steering wheel, and beeped out an SOS on his horn, and then waited.
            In about 17 minutes Rick could see Ralph standing right inside the tree line. He was gesturing to Rick to come to him. OK.
            Rick piled back out and went into the forest.
            “You got an emergency?” said Ralph.
            “Do you know what a Honey Bear is? There’s a story about a Honey Bear sighting here in the camp in the paper this morning. It doesn’t sound good. It sounds like some farmer was talking about one of you guys,” said Rick. “It was two nights ago, so he says.”
            “Hm, that does sound suggestive,” said Ralph. “I’ve never been called a Honey Bear, but you never know what these old timers might come up with!” He was giggling, hugely, which is truly awesome.
            “I betcha I know who it was. I told him that the campground was off limits. OK, let me think.”
            Ralph leaned on a tree; Rick waited. Maeve flew over but didn’t stop.
            “I know how to fix this, Rick. Tell you what. I’ll make myself look like a big old goofy bear and tonight I will raise enough of a ruckus in the campground that I will be seen. Problem solved. It was a bear! Of course, it was a bear! Simple!” said Ralph. “The next thing I will do is get ahold of who I think the culprit is and have a nice long talk with him about blowing MY cover in addition to his own,” said Ralph.
            “Why are we standing in the trees?” said Rick.
            “I just had a feeling, yanno?” said Ralph. “I feel elusive today.”
            “Who am I to doubt it,” said Rick. “So, you think that will work? Settle the public mind, the little dears?”
            “Remember, Rick, it’s always a bear. No matter what they say they saw, no they d’n’t. They saw a bear! Just play dumb, whatever you know!”
            “I can do that,” said Rick. Assuaged, he went back to his office. He threw the paper in his wastebasket, and got a fresh cup of coffee.
            “Everything OK,” said Dexter, who had waited to hear the word from Ralph.
            “Pretty sure, might take a day or two,” said Rick, opening his laptop and starting to poke around in it.
            Now, when Ralph got back home, in the bosom of the Great Forest, he said hi to Ramona.
            She said “Hi, Honey,” and Ralph cracked up.
            It took a couple of minutes for him to settle down and explain.

🧡🐻🧡

✡️5787 Coming Up, New Year Greetings!✡️

 

            You’ve all been very good sports. It’s been a lot of fun, tossing quips back and forth and posting this and that. It’s been quite a learning experience writing all those stories too.

            It seems like a good time to say thanks, here at the end of an old calendar year. As you may know, Rosh Hashanah begins tonight at sundown. According to Chabad.org, it celebrates the creation of Adam and Eve! Tradition, eh!

            In addition to my thanks, I have a question. Do any of you have any suggestions for the MEOW staff? What would you like to see in the near future?

            Also, I welcome contributions from you readers!

            But, most of all I wish you all the very best, and I continue to pray that God blesses you. I also hope the weather improves, sincerely!

 Love, pbird

🍂💚🍂

An Urchin at Large in The Great Forest

 

            Well, as you know, Ralph has set a perimeter around the Great Forest. It works on wandering humans, and other creature that he has specifically banned for cause. However, it does not stop animals from wandering in. Obviously, deer, bears, foxes, coyotes, wolves, turkeys, and every bird of the air have free passage into or out of the Great Forest.
            One foggy morning in the fall of Cherry’s 8^th year, Ramona and Cherry went over to the Silver River to wash some bowls and to get some clean water. Ramona carried the bucket of dirty bowls and Cherry carried a clean bucket. It was totally routine.
            While the girls were busy, Ralph took the opportunity to visit his office, so to speak, for a period of contemplating the Cosmos. Things were just getting good, and he was nearly asleep when he heard a strange little sound. A ripple passed through the Cosmos.
            The sound was pretty close, and rather unfamiliar, though it sounded like an animal of some kind in distress. He sighed and sat up, looking all around himself.
            Nobody could do any contemplating with that little despairing call nearby.
            Ralph threw his feet down to the forest floor and stood up. The sound became louder and seemed to come from very nearby. In fact, so near that he looked at his own feet, and there it sat. It was a small striped animal of the cat variety. The only domestic lions Ralph had ever met was Thaga’s Harold, or Twigg's family of cats. This one was much smaller, maybe the size of a potato, but with legs and tail, and ears and so on.
            Wandering immature kittens are always a mystery. They appear randomly sometimes. And they don’t indicate their origin in any way.
            “Where did you come from?” said Ralph, bending over and picking the tiny mewling thing up in his very large hand. He brought the little thing up to his face to examine it. Small green eyes looked into his very large brown eyes confidently.
            Obviously, this was a situation for Ramona to deal with. She would know what to do with this baby.
            When he got back down to the fire, Ramona and Cherry were sitting there singing songs in the old language together. Two pairs of eyes watched him approach.
            “Look who woke me up a few minutes ago,” said Ralph.
            “Let me see,” said Ramona. “Is it a cat? It’s awfully small.”
            “Yeah, I think so. It is awfully small,” agreed Ralph, as he handed the baby over to her to inspect.
            Cherry looked from face to face, and said, “Is it for us?”
            “I’m not sure,” said Ramona as she held the baby to herself and stroked his little head with one forefinger. “I suppose he’s hungry,” she said. "He's a boy."
            She didn’t have any milk or cream, but they did have some leftover fish, so she minced up a little serving of cooked fish and put it in a bowl with a little water, just in case the little thing was thirsty.
            “Twigg already has a family of cats,” said Ralph.
            “I know. Who else could use a kitty, Baby?”
            “I have Blue,” said Cherry. “And Thaga has Harold.”
            “I think I’ll take him to see Rick. Maybe he needs a ranger station cat!” said Ralph.
            So, after the tiny guy was full of fish and sleepy, Ralph picked him up and cradled him in his left elbow and took off to find Rick.
            When he got to where he could see the station door, he looked around and decided the coast was clear and slipped over to the door, knocked, and went on into Rick’s office.
            “Hey, Rick, are you in here?” said Ralph because he didn’t see him.
            “Yup. I’m in here,” Rick said, coming out of the storage room with a can of Safeway store brand coffee. “Whatcha got there, Ralph, old buddy?”
            Ralph held the little guy out to Rick. “Seems to be a small tomcat, Rick. Do you need a station cat? This guy woke me up when I was thinking. He’s loud!”
            Rick was just holding the little stripey guy and trying to figure out how to say he didn’t need a station cat, not really, when Dexter popped in the door.
            “Oh!” said Dexter. “Is it up for grabs? Does it have a home?”
            “He,” said Ralph and Rick at the same time.
            “He doesn’t have a home yet! He found me when I was thinking, and woke me up a few minutes ago,” said Ralph. “I completely don’t know where he came from!”
            “Can I take him to Hannah? Unless you want him, Rick?” said Dexter, eyes wide.
            “Sure, I bet Hannah would like a kitten,” said Rick. “We have two cats at home, and this one is free to go to you and Hannah! That’s just fine!”
            Dexter took the little thing from Rick, grinned like a ten-year-old, and took off at a run, banging the door and vanishing up into the campground.
            “Well,” said Ralph, grinning himself.
            “There ya go!” said Rick. “Success! Care for coffee, Ralph?”
            “Don’t mind if I do!” said Ralph, settling down in the special big chair in front of Rick’s desk.

🧡🐈‍⬛🧡

Just A Note, from Ralph, Himself

 

            Well, howdy, all! It’s been a busy summer here in the Great Forest. But now that the year is kind of rolling over, I’ve been thinking of you.
            In many ways it’s the most beautiful time of year. Up here, in the meadow everything is sort of golden. It’s too early for falling leaves, but you can tell it won’t be long. Soon the Alder Tree House will lose its leaves and look bare and different. There will be frost here in the Mt. B.S.N.F. Maybe not downhill, not yet anyhow.
            Flowers are going to seed, the grass has died back, and the berries, both black and red are all picked and eaten a while back.
            Down in the Home Clearing now, mornings come later, and we see some mist among the trees when the sun comes up. It feels good to gather close to Mona’s fire. And, there’s nothing like a cup of coffee with its steam rising up into the first sunbeams!
            I know some of you are still feeling the last very hot days of summer, but it will be over before you know it, even there. You might even end up missing some of that heat when winter comes.
            Ramona sends her love. She loves to hear about you guys, and she wishes you all well. She recommends soup making. She says it’s cheerful, and you end up with soup!
            Cherry says, “Hi!”
            Uncle Bob and Maurice are writing songs and doing fine. Maurice has a mystery on his hands. But I suppose we’ll hear more about that in the near future. He hasn’t had anymore weird visitors!
            Everything is quiet over at the river. Very quiet, except for the water.
            Maeve wants you to know, you know what! Yes. Evermore! When you think about it that’s pretty cool.
            OK, I learned a funny old word. Fantod. I pray that none of you fall victim to this aberrant mood disease! To me, it sounds like fleas in the heart. You don’t want fleas in your heart.
            It seems to me, and I have to do this too, that every moment of which you are aware carries within itself a choice. You know what it is. You don’t need me to tell you!
            Keep your chins up! We’re all in this together!
            I can’t write this stuff down, so you’ll have to take in on faith!
 
            Love, Ralph

                    🍁💚🍁

🐈‍⬛⭐The Tootsday Cat (Gossip) Report⭐🐈‍⬛

 

What it would really sound like.

☆🧡☆

            “Anything new, Miss Suzy,” inquired Toots, as it was time for the Tootsday Report.
            “Um, snack time! I’ll get back to you in a minute,” said Suzy. “OK. That didn’t take long!”
            “Oh! What kind did you get? Temptations? Or something else?”
            “Nope,” said Suzy. “We had two kinds of Japanese treats, shipped to our indulgent Auntie R. for us. Squishy things with no English on them, and crunchy things with no English on the package either. So elegant!”
            “Ooo!” said Toots. “So, how do you feel about butter?”
            “Ick,” said Suzy.
            “Check,” said Toots.
            “And check,” said Suzy. “Why do they keep trying to feed us that?”
            “Maybe they’re trying to get rid of it?”
            “Anything else?” inquired Miss Toots.
            “Well, let me tell you! Hold your potatoes, I think? Anyhow, I was napping under her desk yesterday and I happened to hear a conversation. Very hush hush! The story is that we are going to be in a book! Feature that, Tootsie!” whispered Suzy.
            “What in the world could there be to say about us? We never do anything or go anywhere! I bet she made it all up!” said Toots. “Nehhhkkk!!”
            “What a scary idea!” said Suzy. “I mean I could understand it if she was ratting on that Fluffbag, or grumpy Charlie, not to mention her adored darlings, the awful Scouts!”
            “I thought you liked those two!”
            “I did! Until they each outweighed me by three times!
            “Did I tell you about the latest? OK. Check this out! P bought a bag of catnip tea bags. Apparently, people drink this tea, Toots. Well, the adored Scouts stole two tea bags and chewed and snuffed them until they got rip-snorting high! Then, to top it off, they had a screaming fight on the kitchen floor!” said Suzy.
            “Ew, bad form,” agreed Toots.
            “Let me tell you what life is like these days, Dear. I don’t come out into the open until They are soundly asleep. I spend a lot of time under her desk, or behind the vacuum cleaner. They can’t fit behind it. They’re fat! Or, I have a safe nook under the bed. If they stick their noses too close…I growl as hard as I can go!”
            “It’s all about safety,” agreed Toots. “Sometimes I have to go undercover too!”
            “What does Sammie say?” said Suzy.
            “Not much. But I don’t see her hiding much. Maybe she’s a secret Warrior Ninja? But she sure doesn’t show appropriate Caution™, IMO. Toots looked a little concerned at this point.
            “Seems like she must be some kind of Ninja,” said Suzy, admiringly.
            “Do you have any special Purrs to report?” said Toots.
            “No special ones. Just the usual good stuff. Shelter, food, water, warmth, all in spite of the silly Scouts. No earthquakes! Ew! No volcanoes!” mrrred Suzy.
            “I haven’t seen any of those big Hairy guys out on the road recently either,” said Toots. “They give me the utter fantods,” she added, “Nor any fake owls hooting!”
            “I think we’re doing OK, Toots.”
            “I have to agree,” said Toots. “OK. I think that’s enough for today! Snooze well, undercover!”
            “Oh, I will, Honey, I will,” said Suzy.

            “Mrrrrt!”

The Thing That Maeve Saw, And Then Forgot

 

            It’s not surprising that she saw it. After all, Maeve is the eye in the sky who sees all, pretty much. What is surprising is that she forgot it. Passing strange!
            How it went down is this: As you know, the Silver River is the only jack card in the Great Forest’s deck. It flows through the middle of the G.F. with impunity and no special permission. So, anyhow, Maeve was cruising in the sky over the river one early evening just as the land was getting that golden look it gets as the sun is setting. The last of the light was picking out certain things glamorously like on some famous painting. Maeve was digging the scenery, when she noticed something unusual.
            Rolling downstream was a ball of light, maybe ten feet in diameter. It was an odd color somewhere between green and blue, kind of like that shiny spot on the gills of a certain kind of duck. It was about half submerged. It made no noticeable sound.
            Maeve dropped down to get a better look. In its center was a brighter area.
            She was just formulating the intention to go find Ralph and let him in on the story when she forgot all about it. She flew on.
            Once she was gone, this thing rolled over to the river bank near the granite boulder which, though chastened, still lay there. There, it lifted lightly a bit into the air and drifted over to the huge erratic boulder, where it kind of melted into the granite and vanished, leaving the pebbled river bank and the murmuring water as they were before.
            Sunset proceeded normally.
            Things changed after dark.
            Maeve tried to sleep in her stony nest high on the mountain above the Great Forest. Something kept tickling at her thoughts. She kept waking and looking out into the dark, worrying and wondering what she was missing.
            A baker’s dozen or so small versions of the big greenish light began coursing through the Home Clearing. The family who resided there were sleeping so they didn’t see these objects popping and snapping and seeming to be having difficulties, as if they weren’t meant to be there, but were anyhow and suffering for the impertinence.
            It was like a hunt of some kind. Not seeing their quarry in the Home Clearing they spread out. They had an easier time at the campground and the ranger station, but he they sought wasn’t there either.
            So, going back into the forest, they headed up past Ralph’s log and into the big meadow. They bounced and rolled and spat out greenish sparks as their direction became synchronized…
            Koba wasn’t sleeping well either. He woke suddenly. He was aware that his parents were asleep. Something was coming toward him.
            Without waking Twigg or Leely, Koba slipped outside to stand on the grass before the Alder Tree House and wait. As he stood there in the dark, he assumed his star form.
            A baker’s dozen or so of these small greenish lights hurried toward him where he stood before his home. As they came their true forms emerged. The seemed to be tiny glowing lace winged fairies. They gathered around Koba. One spoke.
            “Come home with us, Star Boy! This dirty place in no home for you! You should live among the stars!” It twinkled near his ear, speaking softly, soothingly.
            “No,” said Koba. “Liars!”
            Still speaking sweetly, the first winged imp said, “You would be given great honor among the heavenly lights! You will have glory and power!”
            “Liar!” said Koba. The fairy imp coughed and seemed to struggle to breathe.
            “Time is short, Star Boy! Come now!” it said. “There is a curse on this place and we will die soon unless you hurry now!”
            “I won’t,” said Koba.
            Just about at this impasse, Mak’s silver ship slid down out of the night sky. This time it had lights glowing all along its sides.
            “Oh, no…” said the coughing fairy.
            “What!” cried Leely as she opened the door of the Alder Tree House and stepped outside, trying to read what she was seeing. Twigg was right behind her.
            Mak emerged from his ship quickly holding an odd-looking device of some kind. He stepped over by Koba, and kind of vacuumed up the fairies with it. Coughing was still audible from inside the strange machine.
            “I’m sorry,” said Mak to Koba and his parents. “It was a kidnapping attempt. I’m proud of Koba. He knew a liar when he saw one!”
            “Who were they?” said still sleepy Twigg.
            “There are still some dark corners of the galaxy. The one who sent them hoped to gain power by possessing Koba. It was a stupid plan, really,” said Mak. “I’ll deal with them. Goodbye, and goodnight! I will visit soon, but not tonight.”
            He re-entered his ship and it slipped back up into the air and vanished.
            The whole scene looked normal again.
            Far up in the mountain, Maeve remembered what she had seen.
            “That thing must have done something to make me forget!” she said to herself. And, though it was dark, and ravens don’t generally fly in the dark, Maeve flew from her nest to find Ralph.
            When she got to the cave door, she rapped on it hard with her beak. Ralph came out in a moment. She told him about the big greenish round thing in the river, and how she had been made to forget to report it to him.
            “Not good, Birdie,” said Ralph. “This smells very bad. My heart tells me to go up to the Alder Tree House and see if all is well or not!”
            When Ralph is in a hurry, it doesn’t take him long to get up into the meadow. Maeve flew beside him. He and Maeve got there in a couple shakes of a goat’s whiskers.
            All was quiet at the Alder Tree House, but Ralph knocked anyhow and woke everybody up again. First Leely explained what she had seen, then Twigg did the same. Then Ralph put Koba on his knee and said, “Now you tell me what happened to you this night, Koba!”
            Koba told him about going outside because he knew something was coming, and seeing the lights coming across the meadow to him, and how they changed into sort of lacy fairies.
            “Then they told me to come home with them, and I said no,” said Koba.
            “After that Mak came in his ship and put them in a machine and took them back into the air with him! Grampa, they were liars. They said I would have honor and power among the stars. That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
            “Yes, that was a lie,” said Ralph.
            Then Maeve told them what she had seen, and how she forgot about it, and then remembered suddenly up in her nest while she was trying to sleep.
            “I’ll let you all go back to bed now. I have a bit of business to attend to. I don’t think you’ll see those naughty fairies again, Koba,” said Ralph. “Be at peace.”
            Ralph and Maeve walked back down through the meadow, into the woods, and into the Home Clearing. Ralph helped Maeve into the cave to tell Ramona everything, then he went on down to the river.
            In the darkness, under just a bit of dim light from the sky, he could hear the river sighing as it moved ever onward. He could sense the presence of the Mouth of the Mountain lying in the shadow of the great firs.
            In the morning, not a trace of the huge granite boulder remained. Only a smooth bed of river pebbles lay where she had been.

🍄‍🟫💮🍄‍🟫

Photo source.

Suzday Greetings and Open Thread

 I took Catfurday off!

Photo is from a September 2009 trip to Alaska. 

It was a gift from our youngest!

The next morning, early, while most were still abed.

I would certainly like to go back, overland.

Such a trip would be a very big deal.

But, it would be epic!

⚓