Today a fine rain drizzles down upon my little patch of ground. I'm so glad that yesterday was fine and fair, for my friend Badger. But wait...I left you last time staring at an unopened package!
No fear. I opened the package soon after I posted and Badger and I had a delightful first meeting. He's my kind of people! Polite and very down-to-earth. (Is that a pun when applied to a badger?)
After a tour of the house (It was dark outside, so no thought of going out, though he, being a creature of the night, might have liked to.) we enjoyed a small before-bedtime snack. I knew right away what he would prefer. A favorite of mine as well, coincidentally... (This was accompanied by hot chocolate and pumpkin bars!)
We munched and talked for quite some time, but I, unfortunately, had to go to work the next morning, so to bed I must go. (Did any of you have this problem?) I showed Badger to the guest room, but he seemed a little hesitant. I asked what was the matter and he said that he would feel slightly lost in the large bed. Oh! After a bit of thought we came up with a very snug solution.
Up bright and early the next morning! Badger was seriously jet-lagged from his trip over the big pond, so I let him sleep in. I felt so guilty having to rush off to work, but it occurred to me that he is, after all, a GROWN badger and could probably shift very well for himself. I left him a note, inviting him to help himself to anything in the larder...
I also suggested that we have a very nice hiking trail running alongside the property and he might want to enjoy the sunshine and have a nice walk. Upon returning home I found that he had taken my suggestion, had packed a little lunch, and had explored the trail as well as the woods behind my house.
He regaled me with stories of his explorations. His nose quivered with delight as he told me of the scent of badgers in the vicinity. He had even discovered several burrows. I told him that our badgers' holes were probably not as snug and well-stocked as his own. "Yes," he replied. "There's nothing that compares with home." He sounded a little wistful, but assured me that he meant to enjoy his journey, knowing that his snug burrow awaited him at the end of the road.
After a filling supper, I took my guest outside to introduce him to...(dum, dum, DUM)...the Ancient Swamp Willows of Nevis, MN. Though they are ancient, and pretty much falling down, he loved them instantly and had to have a climb. (No badgers don't really climb trees. He needed a little boost.)
I've misplaced my photo of Mole, Rat and Toad playing in that very same tree, so I showed him this painting instead. He thought it was rather cool that they had all shared this same experience!
Well, Badger went off to the study to write in his journal, so in other news...
I've been reading through my binders of old emails from mom. She has one binder entitled "Warm Fuzzies" which contains "only letters that supply special 'landmarks' or 'warm fuzzies', etc. that I like to read on cozy rainy days." There are many hand-written letters in this binder, going back many years. I was very smitten with a letter from one of her friends. I loved how this woman had created her own ingenious stationary using dried flowers encased in a wax paper-like material. Isn't this cute?
It has a Victorian feeling to it, don't you think?
Well, I'm going to cease and desist for now. A slight cold still hangs on and fogs my brain, so I'll find some very un-cerebral activities to entertain myself. Badger is enjoying doing his own thing and is now poring over my bookshelves in search of a good rainy-day-read. Like I said, my kind of people!
Farewell, from the north woods of Minnesota!
Shalom to all.
