Mr. Groundhog Comes to Lunch

It had all the makings of a gorgeous day: outside the sky was blue, the grass was green, the bubbling brook was making soothing gurgly noises, the birds were singing, cicadas were chirping; inside the kids were playing a game nicely together. I couldn't have asked for anything more! As I was looking out the window I spotted him: a little critter resembling a groundhog with a bushy tail came prancing down the lane, over the bridge, and down our sidewalk. So cute was he, in all of his furry cheerfulness. My mind turned back to such stories of Beatrix Potter's Peter Cottontail, Benjamin Bunny, and all of the rest of the little animal friends from my childhood and my children's present life. Everything combined together to make "right now" simply perfect. I called Steve and the children over and we smiled as we watched him make his way toward the house as though coming for a lunch date. So cute. So happy. So perfect. And then it happened. Our three dogs that had been off playing somewhere in the fields came tearing over the lawn, each from different directions. One grabbed Mr. Groundhog's back left leg, the other his right, while another lunged for his throat. Within seconds, our fairy book story was shattered and we stood watching "National Geographic" instead. The children screamed. I covered my mouth in horror. Steve's jaw dropped. We simply couldn't believe what we'd seen! Poor Mr. Groundhog! Mr. Groundhog, who had desired to come to lunch had become lunch instead. At least I'd been able to save that possum...

R.O.U.S. Part 2

Time writing: 20 minutes
Time editing: 10 minutes

It was lying on its back, legs straight up in the air, its paws with the claws out ready for the attack. The fur on its body was mottled and ragged. But the single feature that struck the most fear in my heart was its face with its teeth bared in a permanent snarl.

I could feel the blood draining from my face as I looked out on the hideous creature lying on my lawn. It was obvious my dogs had killed him, bless them! But what kind of animal was this? Were there more of these ghoulish creatures nearby? Did I need to worry about my children playing outside?

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and I turned my head to see Steve coming toward me. He wrapped himself around me from behind, whispering, "Good morning, beautiful," just like he did every morning. Usually his words melted me and warmed me from the inside out, but today they had no affect on the coldness that I felt.

"It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day!" he said, as he surveyed the sky.

"Steve, what kind of animal is that?"

"Where?"

"Right there, lying next to Amber's toy plates."

"Oh..." he got quiet for a long while, then he let out a laugh.

I turned around suddenly, startled by his reaction. I couldn't see what could possibly be funny.

"What?" I snapped, "What is that thing?"

Still smiling he replied, "Remember that 'coon the dogs killed a month ago and kept dragging back to the porch even after I threw it into the fields time and again?"

I nodded. Yes, I knew the one. I had nearly stepped on it coming out of the house a few times. A stinky, old, rotting raccoon.

"Well, about a week ago I got tired of throwing it back into the field, but I didn't want to take time to dig a proper grave, so I threw it in the burn barrel while I was burning our garbage. It looks like its fur got singed and its lips burned off. It does look pretty ugly, doesn't it? It doesn't seem to have bothered the dogs any, though. They must've dragged him out of there, though I'm not sure how they got to him. I'll bury him deep today, so they won't bring him to us again."

I looked back at the 'coon. It looked just like the Rodents of Unusual Size from The Princess Bride's Fire Swamp. Thank heavens I didn't have to worry about that snarly critter's babies coming to bite my own babies.

My mind turned toward another critter: that cute little happy beaver that tried to visit us the other day without much success.... (continue to: Mr. Beaver Comes to Lunch)

Topic: R.O.U.S. Part 1

Time writing: 20 minutes
Time editing: 10 minutes

The house was chilly upon awakening. That was the down side to living in a renovated, Amish built home with no central heating. I slipped on my bathrobe and slippers and quietly tiptoed downstairs. It was always nice to have a few minutes to myself in the early morning while the children slept. Sidestepping the creaky stair, I inched my way down.

Silence filled my ears. What a glorious sound it was! Glancing out the window I saw that it was going to be a beautifully clear day. No wonder it was so chilly!

Kneeling down, I lifted the lever to the wood stove's door and gently eased it open. Taking the fireplace shovel, I scraped away the ashes from the previous night's fire. Turning around, I found a couple of good cedar logs and laid those down first, then came the fire starters in between them, sticks and twigs next, tinder scattered on top, and finally, a couple more cedar logs carefully laid atop. Standing up and stretching a little, I found the matches on the top shelf. I knelt back down, struck the match, amazed by the heat that one little flame will give off, and lit the fire starter. It would take a few minutes to see if my fire was laid out well enough, so I shut the door. Using the wood stove to help me stand up, I felt the cold, hard soapstone under my hands. This wood stove was my absolute favorite! With its veiny soapstone and shiny brown porcelain exterior, it was just the right combination of practicality and elegance.

Turning, I walked toward the door to look out of its window and survey the morning. Looking out past the shop and barn, I could see the blue sky waiting for the warmth of the sun. The cow was already in the barn, patiently waiting by the gate for Steve to come out and milk her, while the goat and sheep were in the pasture appreciating the field grasses. The dogs and cats were still fast asleep on the front porch, and our black and white Border Collie, Madame, as she frequently did, had a cat sleeping on her back. That dog could sleep through anything! Looking across the lawn I saw that the kids had not obeyed when I told them to put their toys away for the night: a dolly, asleep on the dewy grass was probably damp from her campout on the lawn, a pop-gun laid abandoned on the sidewalk, bikes strewn every which-way, and that's when I saw the scariest critter I'd ever seen lying dead on the grass next to the toy dishes! (continue to: R.O.U.S. Part 2)

Introductions

This is the first post of this blog. I have started this blog to help me hone my writing skills. Each day I will set a timer and write until the timer dings. In this way, I'm hoping that I can learn just to put down words and get my creative juices flowing. Maybe I'll set a second timer so that I clean up misspellings and edit the grammar too.
That's my goal. Wish me luck!