A few weekends ago we were "On the road again" to visit our person's father in Tennessee.
We happened to be near the Tennessee Aquarium and were fortunate enough to make a visit.
We saw all manner of interesting creatures!
Master H. even got up the nerve to feed some of the creatures in the uhhhh....aquatic petting zoo. He was braver than the rest of us!
Unknown to us until we arrived home and started to unpack our luggage, a couple of stowaways hitched a ride home with us.
We tried to convince our little penguin friends to return to the aquarium and an environment more suitable to them, but they seemed to like our environment just fine. Oh well, the more the merrier. We also found Melody, a little pink bear, along the way on our journey. She was actually invited home with us....unlike our other new residents. In other news, we have an older companion who our person FINALLY after 12 YEARS decided to take travelling in the future and to give a permanent place in our home to call her own. This is Sarah Crewe. Poor Sarah has bounced between our companion households for 12 years. She really always wanted to be a travel companion to our person, but our person thought her too fine and fragile to do so (even though she was actually MADE as a travel doll). We finally nudged our person to at least sit and visit with Sarah awhile and the two became quite fast friends. We only regret it took our person this long. Sarah, patient dear that she is, is just happy to finally be "discovered." Now Sarah is our permanent "desk" companion. She enjoys being with our person so much of the time as she catches up with friends on-line and even gets changed into her nightgown (which, we must add, our person never so much as even put on her until now) every night. Sarah will be accompanying us on outings in the future and finally allowed to become the travel doll she was actually made to be.
Now, as to other happenings. It has been raining quite a bit lately. Today the sun came out for a little while, but it was still too wet to go outside. Myself and a few other companions decided to at least look outside, even if we couldn't go outside.
We were sadly looking out at the place the old, old snowball bush used to stand. Master H. had to cut it down yesterday after it was killed in the ice storm a couple of months ago. Our person actually wept and could not watch as the bush was cut away. The bush was very old and quite large and full. It was also home to a family of mocking birds that have nested there for generations, according to the houses' previous owners (who lived here almost 70 years). Our person looked forward to seeing the Mocking birds and watching their babies grow up each summer. But, nothing could be done for the poor tree. The strange thing was, we thought we heard other weeping just outside the back door as the bush was cut down. But, when we looked yesterday, we saw no-one outside the door. Another strange thing was that we washed some of our clothes yesterday and hung them out in the brief sunshine to dry. When I went to fetch them in, one of Birdie's spring outfits was missing. We thought perhaps the wind had blown it away.
Today as we sat looking outside, we again thought we heard soft weeping. This time, when Mirabella opened the door, she saw a delicate little elf, dressed in Birdie's missing clothes, sitting and weeping on the porch steps! We all immediately invited her in.
She shyly and hesitently crept inside our house, looking around as if she had never been inside a home before. We were all quite astonished!
Eilonwy softly spoke to the dear little creature and she quickly ran to Eilonwy and took her hand, sensing a kindred spirit.
With some gentle questioning, our new guest told her story. Her name is Ellswyth. She is a little wood elf who lived inside the old snowball bush. This winter, as she huddled inside the trunk of the old bush for warmth, she could feel her old bush friend and home dying as the ice enclosed it. She knew not what to do. She had hoped to live there in the empty shell of the bush at least as long as she could, but when Master H. (not knowing the bush was home to an elf, of course), took down the bush, she was left without a home. Her clothes were badly damaged from the cruel winter and she was quite destitute, homeless, friendless, and left in rags. She had often peered in our window secretly and knew their were other elves and pixies living within. But, she was too shy to knock on our door and ask for help. She saw our clothes hanging out to dry yesterday and thought to only borrow one outfit until she could somehow find the means to make new clothes for herself. Today, after it rained and she huddled under the porch step for shelter, she could not help but weep in despair. She could not find another suitable bush to live in within our fence and did not want to leave our yard since she had lived here for so long.
I must admit, we were all near to tears when she finished her story. We immediately invited her to share our home. She smiled shyly and admitted it would be nice to have company of the human, elven, pixie, and fairy kind. We told our person of the poor dear's plight and her need for clothes. Birdie's clothes really don't fit the poor dear well, although Birdie didn't mind at all sharing her wardrobe with Ellswyth.
With some gentle questioning, our new guest told her story. Her name is Ellswyth. She is a little wood elf who lived inside the old snowball bush. This winter, as she huddled inside the trunk of the old bush for warmth, she could feel her old bush friend and home dying as the ice enclosed it. She knew not what to do. She had hoped to live there in the empty shell of the bush at least as long as she could, but when Master H. (not knowing the bush was home to an elf, of course), took down the bush, she was left without a home. Her clothes were badly damaged from the cruel winter and she was quite destitute, homeless, friendless, and left in rags. She had often peered in our window secretly and knew their were other elves and pixies living within. But, she was too shy to knock on our door and ask for help. She saw our clothes hanging out to dry yesterday and thought to only borrow one outfit until she could somehow find the means to make new clothes for herself. Today, after it rained and she huddled under the porch step for shelter, she could not help but weep in despair. She could not find another suitable bush to live in within our fence and did not want to leave our yard since she had lived here for so long.I must admit, we were all near to tears when she finished her story. We immediately invited her to share our home. She smiled shyly and admitted it would be nice to have company of the human, elven, pixie, and fairy kind. We told our person of the poor dear's plight and her need for clothes. Birdie's clothes really don't fit the poor dear well, although Birdie didn't mind at all sharing her wardrobe with Ellswyth.Our person let Ellswyth pick out some fabric for a new dress and is working on it as we speak.
We think the dress will suit our new friend quite nicely, and she is more than happy to have new friends, a new home, and new clothes!
So, that is what is happening in our world! Hardly a dull moment at all!
Hitty Rowan
