Still having Christmas stamps left makes you realize how often you send mail!
Being home alone … Celtic music playing … Dogs snoozing … Hot drink in your hand …. Rain outside, but sunny inside.
When your son gives you a hug, and asks, “Mom, did you realize it was the last time, the last time you held me on your lap?” Cherish the “lasts!”
Margaret was enjoying listening to the bluebird singing, while rocking on the porch swing. She wondered if it was singing to attract a mate. Was it ready to build a nest?
Margaret loved springtime! Flowers bloomed, trees began to bud, some even grew Easter eggs. She laughed to herself, Henry had been so excited making their tree into an egg tree. The grandkids were coming and Henry knew they would love it.
The screen door opened and Margaret turned her head. Henry was coming out the door with 2 glasses of lemonade. Together they sat on the swing, chatting and enjoying a relaxing afternoon.
The grandkids hadn’t even been here for an hour before Luke was running to the barn to find Betsy.
10 year old Luke had been entranced with Betsy since the first day he saw her. They were quickly becoming best buds.
They were able to pull him away to hunt Easter eggs but as soon as he was done he ran to the meadow where Betsy was grazing with her Mama.
Patrick, his cousin, didn’t quite understand Luke’s fascination with Betsy. Sure she was a cute little calf but he would much rather be playing cops and robbers than be sitting with a calf all day!
Luke sat under a shade tree reading a book to Betsy, who was now lying in the grass. He paused and looked up from his book. He could see the other kids playing and he knew Patrick was upset with him, but Luke couldn’t help it. There was something special about Betsy that drew him to her.
Maybe it was her deep brown eyes that looked like they could see right through him! Or maybe he was crazy. Who knew! He didn’t care. Right now sitting in the soft, emerald green grass, patting Betsy’s head, he knew he was exactly where he belonged!
“The End”, he closed the book. Luke wondered how it would have felt to have been Jack and climbed a big beanstalk that led to the sky. Sounded like an adventure that Luke would have loved to go on. He wouldn’t have been afraid of any big giant, even if he didn’t appear to be too jolly.
Lying the book down Luke stood up and turned around to look at the large Oak tree. Its branches went high into the sky. Luke was suddenly struck with an idea. He would climb to the highest branch of the tree. Maybe he would find an opening in the sky that led to a castle, like Jack did!
He started climbing and it took some effort but he was making progress. His heart began to beat faster as he climbed higher and higher. Ooh he better not look down, he was getting pretty high now.
Luke started feeling a little dizzy but he couldn’t stop now, he was almost at the very top!
Margaret heard her daughter yell and everyone looked where she pointed. Oh No! Luke was at the highest branch on their tall Oak tree.
He looked like he was reaching for something as he stood at the end of the branch. His legs were wobbly and Margaret drew in her breath and yelled just as she saw him fall!
Noone could believe it, Betsy was the hero of the day! She had broken Luke’s fall. She had walked right under the branch he was on and stood there moments before he fell. It was like she was waiting for him.
Luke had his breath knocked out of him a little but that was it. When everyone got to Betsy, he was standing up hugging her around the neck as tight as he could.
Henry watched with intrigue. He particularly watched the subtle interaction between Lucy and Betsy. He saw them gazing at each other and he knew he saw Lucy’s head move ever so slightly, as if she was nodding at her. Like she was saying “Good Job!” Henry never knew cows could wink, but he was sure that he saw Lucy give Betsy a wink.
He felt like he had witnessed a silent message passsed between Lucy and Betsy. Plus while everyone was around Luke he noticed something else.
When walking up to Betsy, he noticed the silver cowbell that had mysteriously appeared around her neck. To his surprise there was a bluish glow around it. It only lasted momentarily and then it was gone. Yes, Henry felt it in his bones, there was something truly special about Betsy!
Happy Tuesday! Beautiful day here, I am off work for just few hours, so plan to take a walk before I have to go back. Hope that you are enjoying your Tuesday! I know that April Fool’s is past but I couldn’t resist posting the following picture. Don’t you think it would be a fun thing to do. My problem would be drinking the tea with my friends trying to keep a straight face, while waiting for them to get to the bottom of the cup. Well, I can promise you that you won’t get “poisoned” by reading the following quotes and I hope they bring a smile! Enjoy!
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It seems that for some reason my Part 2 post did not show up on the WP reader. If you missed seeing it, here is the link, Lucy, the Special Cow! The following story is Part 3 and the conclusion … ( I think)
Henry and Margaret were sitting outside rocking on the hand crafted wooden porch swing. It had been a wedding gift from Henry and served them well through the years. They had whispered words of endearment on this swing and shed tears. They had said words in anger, but also made up while swinging, gradually moving closer to each other. The swing had grown to be a special place throughout the years.
Crickets were singing and the night air was warm, with the full moon shining bright. Henry was singing softly to Margaret, “You are my Sunshine”. His voice cracked now with age, but it still worked the same magic in her heart as it had years ago, in their courting days.
“MOO!” Loud mooing was heard coming from the barn. It sounded like Lucy was in pain. Henry and Margaret both hurried to the barn as fast as they could. Henry opened the door and a joyous sight met his eyes. Lucy was lying down next to her newborn, chestnut brown, spotted calf. Henry and Margaret watched in awe as Lucy lovingly washed her calf off, looking at Henry and Margaret with pride in her eyes.
After spending some time in the barn with Lucy and her new calf, they left, for the night was late and they were tired. While walking back to the house, Margaret said, ” Did you notice? There wasn’t a silver cowbell around the calf’s neck.”
“Yes, I saw that. A little disappointing, but one magic cow is really all we need. I am sure that little Betsy will still be a great cow! Plus we are getting too old to travel anyway. Lucy will probably stay around more now that Betsy is here, all will be good, no more wondering about where she is and when she will be back.” replied Henry.
“That is true,” Margaret said, laying her head on Henry’s shoulder, they walked into their house.
Lucy admired her calf, she was worn out but she loved Betsy and before she went to sleep she had to tell her how special she was.
“You need to know that you aren’t just an ordinary cow.” Lucy said.
Betsy opened one eye and looked at her Mama. What did she mean?
“There are many adventures for you to go on, people to help. I have traveled around this world, but I am getting old and its time for me to pass my special gift onto you.”
Suddenly Betsy felt something around her neck. What was it? She looked down and spied something shiny, oh how it sparkled. Betsy smiled, it was pretty. She wondered what her Mama meant though about helping people? How would she help people and travel around the world, she was having trouble just standing on her own 4 feet. Sighing she nestled in close to her Mama, and closed her eyes. She was too tired to worry about anything right now. Her belly was full of milk and her eyes were heavy, it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. Mother and baby encircled together in love, who knew what adventures awaited.
The next morning Teressa was afraid to get up. What was her Dad going to say about her Mom being gone? How would she ever explain? She rubbed her eyes and figured the sooner she got it over with the better. She should just get up and go face Dad and tell him the whole story. Oh what made think that it was a good idea that she take the cowbell. If she never would have done that, she wouldn’t be in the mess that she was in right now and her Mom would be safe at home.
Teressa got out of bed and brushed her hair, trying to gather up courage to face her Dad. She picked out the outfit that her Dad bought her for her birthday. Any little thing she could do to help ease her Dad’s anger Teressa would do. She also put the cherry red bow in her hair that he had given her a few months back. He had picked it up when looking for treasures to sell and he said that he didn’t want to sell it for he thought it would look lovely in her golden blonde hair.
Opening her bedroom door she headed for the stairs, she cocked her head. Where was that music coming from? She had never heard such beautiful music. Walking faster she started down the stairs and much to her surprise her Mom was downstairs strumming a golden harp!
Relief coursed through Teressa to see her Mom and at the same time she was filled with many questions! She rushed downstairs, almost tripping over the last step.
“Mama! Mama! You are back! Where did you learn to play the harp and how did you get it? Where did you go?”
“Oh if I told you you would probably never believe me. I had such a fun adventure. I went high up in the sky and found some treasures.” She looked at her husband and winked.
“Up in the sky … treasures? What are you talking about? Is the golden harp one of the treasures? Do you have the cowbell?”
“No, I don’t have the cowbell, it was passed on to someone special.”
“Who? You gave it away to someone, why?” Teressa implored.
“I think you should go out to the barn Teressa, gather the chicken’s eggs please. We need more eggs for breakfast..” her Dad said, patting her shoulder.
Teressa looked from her Mom to her Dad, there was a bowl of scrambled eggs on the table, why did they need more eggs? Something was up.
“But…” Teressa began, but she knew it was no use. Her Mom went back to playing the harp and her Dad started humming along. Starting for the door she wondered if something was waiting for her in the barn.
With great curiosity and some hesitation she walked to the barn. Her feet were wet from the dew of the grass. She hadn’t taken the time to put on shoes. With curiosity and some hesitation she reached the barn and opened the door.
There was no cow with its deep brown eyes waiting for her, but what was that sitting on a nest? She gasped, where oh where did a Golden Goose come from? Teressa couldn’t believe her eyes! Did her parents know about this? It flew up, shaking its feathers everywhere. Scared Teressa, making her heart race, as it almost flew right into her face. Then it settled back down, but Teressa couldn’t believe what she had seen. It had been sitting on large, golden eggs! They sparkled like they were magical. First a magical cow shows up in the barn and now a golden goose that lays golden eggs! Teressa’s mind was spinning, she didn’t know what to think. There was one thing though, that she did know for sure. She was becoming a strong believer in the fact that their barn had to be enchanted!
This a continuation from Thursday’s post, The Enchanted Barn
Finally she heard the sound that she had been waiting for, the sound of a freight train coming. The sound of her Dad snoring. Her Mom slept like a log as soon as her head hit the pillow, and Teressa had no idea how she managed to sleep through the snoring every night. She was glad though for her Mama being a sound sleeper, for now the coast was clear for Teressa to carry out her plan.
Grabbing her backpack that she had packed with food, money and an extra set of clothes, she headed out of her bedroom. Teressa tip-toed past her parent’s bedroom, towards the stairs. Creeping very softly down the steps, she skipped the 4th one, knowing that had a squeaky board in it. Making it down with her heart rapidly beating she stood still for a moment listening. All was clear, all she heard was the sound of her Dad’s freight train continuing to chug.
Her Dad’s bag was by the door, with new treasures to add to his cart in the morning, hoping to sell. Teressa reached into it hoping the cowbell was on top but it wasn’t. It must have sunk to the bottom. There was a china doll, some silver spoons, and little bottles of oils to heal almost every sickness you could think of. She laid each thing on the table when pulling it out of the bag. Oh where was that cowbell, thought Teressa.
A frightening thought struck her, what if her Dad had taken it into the bedroom with him. He couldn’t stop looking at it last night and telling Mama all that he would buy for her with it. Mama had rolled her eyes at him. She did not believe the story about it being magic and didn’t think he would be able to get anyone to pay the large amount that he wanted for it. She called him a dreamer!
When Teressa began to give up hope of finding the cowbell, her hand touched something cold and metallic. Yes, it was the cowbell, she had found it! Her heart sparked with joy as she pulled it out of the bag. Now there was nothing stopping her! She drew in a deep breath, was she really brave enough to do this? To let the enchanted cowbell take her away, having no idea where she would go. Yes, she could do this, what an adventure it could be. One like no other that she ever had!
Suddenly hearing footsteps and a squeak, she jumped, dropping the cowbell on the floor. Her heart fell at the sight before her. Mama was on the stairs, standing on the 4th step, looking at her curiously.
“Why are your Dad’s trinkets spread out on the table? What are you doing?” her Mama asked, as she came down the stairs, and over to where Teressa stood.
“What are you doing up Mama?” Teressa asked, ignoring her Mom’s question.
“I needed some hot milk, my stomach wasn’t feeling right and your Dad is snoring so loud, how can I sleep through that? ”
Teressa didn’t mention to her how she seems to sleep through it just fine every night. Of all nights for her Mama to have a stomach ache, thought Teressa. Now what was she going to do?
Teressa’s Mom bent down to pick the cowbell up from the floor. “Your Dad is so crazy, thinking anyone is going to believe that this is a magic bell. You all did a good job of concocting up a story, you and your Dad have wild imaginations.”
“But it really is magic!” said Teressa.
“Well if it really is magic, perhaps it can cure my stomach ache. You shake it 3x right?”
“Yes, but…”
“1,2,3…” Pink and purple smoke billowed around the room.
When it cleared Teressa stood there with her mouth agape and a sinking feeling in her stomach, realizing that her Mama was gone! This was not how it was supposed to be! What would her Dad say when he found out what happened and where oh where did her Mama go?
Henry walked into the farmhouse with a big smile on his face. He tugged on his wife’s apron strings while she stood at the stove with her back to him.
“Henry! She turned around holding a spatula, looking into Henry’s twinkling blue eyes.
“What has you so cheerful this morning?” she asked as she retied her apron strings.
“Lucy is back in the barn. Our special cow came back home and I think she is close to giving birth!”
Margaret’s face lit up, “That is wonderful news!” She placed the eggs and biscuits and gravy on the table for breakfast, and they both sat down.
“Do you think her calf will have the same magical powers that she does?” asked Margaret.
“I have no idea, but I would think its very possible! Oh Margaret who would have thought that Lucy would turn out to have such magical powers? Remember how mad at me you were when I first bought her?”
Margaret blushed. “You will never let me live that down! But yes, I thought you were a true dummkopf for giving away the last of my beans to get a cow! Telling that poor boy, Jack, that they were magic beans. You should have been ashamed of yourself. I was going to use those beans for our supper. Then that cow got into my bag of beans and ate them all!”
“Oh yes, you threw quite the fit! But then we woke up the next morning and Lucy had a sparkling cowbell around her neck! We both were touching it, wondering where it came from when Lucy shook her head 3x and … “
They both smiled at each other thinking back over the years of all the places their sweet Lucy had taken them. They had traveled the world. Apparently those beans that Lucy ate, really had been magic beans!
Hope, Love and Laughter…. been making life sweeter for decades. Sweeter than any amount of sugar ever could, and calorie free!
Remembering back,years ago, when my child excitedly told me he found a sign of Spring. Pointing to our flower bed he said, “Look Mommy, a weed!”… He knew the flowers would be coming.
Don’t lose hope when things look dark, for rarely can we see the big picture … we just see the weeds!
What was that noise coming from the barn? She was kicking herself for coming home so late. If only she would have insisted for Joe to take her home sooner. Who was she kidding though, she had no desire to leave him sooner, she longed for the day when they would be together always, in their own place. Through the night she could lay in his arms.
Standing there still, Teressa was unsure of what to do. Was it safer to go investigate what was in the barn, or to enter the house and face her Dad’s temper? This was the 3rd time this week that she was late coming home! With a thumping heart she headed for the barn. When she got closer she was startled to hear what sounded like a cow, but they didn’t have any cows, only chickens.
Her heart slowed down a little, for she would much rather face a cow than a stranger in the barn. Slowly she walked towards the freshly painted red barn and opened the wooden latch.
“MOO!”
Teressa was speechless, she had been right! She couldn’t imagine how a brown and white cow got in here, but it was standing right before her own eyes. The cow was quiet once it saw her. There was something about its eyes that drew Teressa closer to it. She was standing right in front of it when she noticed the shiny silver cowbell hanging around its neck. Moments passed as they stared at each other in silence. The only sound was the one that the chickens were making.
Teressa was thinking this could turn out to be a really good thing that she found this cow. Surely it would distract her Dad from being angry with her for coming home so late. At least momentarily! She had just started to turn around to go to the house and get her Dad when she heard a voice. “Leaving already?”
Teressa froze, was the cow just a distraction? Was there a stranger hiding in the barn? She gazed at the cow, and then practically fainted as she realized that it was the cow who had spoken!
“Never saw a talking cow before? I am the only one, so of course you haven’t. I am a very special cow, you know. I may look ordinary to you but don’t let yourself be fooled, for I am way beyond ordinary!”
Teressa was at a loss for words. She had never seen a cow looking so proud of themselves before, much less talking!! She kept staring at the cow, mesmerized by its deep brown eyes.
“I like to travel around, so I never stay in one place for too long. See this shiny bell around my neck?”
Teressa nodded.
“All I have to do is shake my head 3x like this and …. ”
POOF! The barn was filled with pink and purple smoke and when the smoke cleared the cow was nowhere to be seen. Teressa turned around looking for it and was stunned to see her Dad standing in the doorway.
“Your Mom will never believe this!” her Dad said, shaking his head.
“Dad look!” Teressa found her voice as she noticed that the silver cow bell must have fallen off the cow’s neck! It was laying right where the mysterious cow had been standing.
Her Dad’s face was shining holding the cowbell in his hands. “A magical cowbell! This would go perfect in my collection of treasures! It will of course have a hefty price tag on it!” her Dad said, he was a peddler and had all kinds of knick knacks that he sold.
Teressa didn’t want him to sell it though, she wanted to try it out herself! This was the most amazing thing that she had ever seen! She watched her Dad proudly holding onto it, like it was a million dollars. She could see the dreams in his eyes of what he would do with the money. Somehow she would have to get her hands on the cowbell before he sold it. Her eyes gleamed in anticipation and her heart felt as light as a feather while following her Dad into the house. This night had turned out quite well after all!
“Blech! That tastes awful!” Mr. Tippner looked down at his bowl of GrapeNuts cereal and saw the orange liquid. OOPS! He had accidentally poured orange juice into his cereal instead of milk. He was feeling pretty sleepy this morning.
Mason almost tripped walking down his stairs. He needed his coffee. Pouring himself a cup, he held it in one hand as he opened the refrigerator to grab some eggs.
Made himself some scrambled eggs. Got out the ketchup to put on them and then wondered where his coffee cup was. What had he done with it? When he put the ketchup back in the fridge he got his answer. It was sitting on the shelf where the carton of eggs had been. The eggs were still sitting on the counter.
Shaking his head he felt like he should go back to bed, for he was feeling rather dopey.
Cara woke up feeling happy. The day had come and she was all ready for it. She snuk Bard’s surprise into his lunchbox and gave him a kiss goodbye. Chuckling as she closed the door.
A half hour later she was ready to leave with her box of chocolate candy.
Mason kept dropping things at work. Cara laughed, calling him butterfingers. “Perhaps you need a nap!” Cara said.
The bell jangled and Tippner came in the door. He walked over to his favorite booth in the coffee shop and sat down. He wasn’t sitting long before he started sneezing.
After sneezing 6x in a row Cara asked if he needed to see a Doc when she came to take his order.
“Nah! Its only my allergies acting up.” Then he sneezed again. Mason came out of the backroom and hearing Tippner sneezing he spoke up.
“He probably is allergic to those new weeds you put at every table.” Mason said to Cara.
Cara made a face. “They aren’t weeds, they are flowers.” she retorted. Tippner sneezed again.
“Like I was saying..he is allergic to the yellow weeds.” Mason said to Cara as he walked away.
Tippner ended up taking his raspberry hot chocolate to go, for he kept sneezing and it was making him grumpy. Besides he had to get back to his store. There were bikes to sell now that the weather was getting nicer.
Walking down the sidewalk on his way to the bike shop he saw Jake coming toward him. Jake was holding something behind his back. When he got closer he sprayed Mr. Tippner with silly string.
“Heyyy what do you think you are doing?”
Jake grinned as he quickly sprayed again before running off. Mr. Tippner heard him yelling. “Don’t you know what day it is?” yelled Jake.
Well of course he knew what day it was, thought Tippner. He may be feeling a little grumpy but he wasn’t too dopey to know what day it was. Why it was Thursday and the beginning of April. Tippner shook his head. Crazy kid!
Meanwhile Mason was whistling as he worked. The day was going well, lots of customers coming in. Everyone was out today, with fhe beautiful weather on the first day of April.
Sara entered the coffee shop and patiently waited for Cara to finish waiting on the customers that were ahead of her.
Cara finished taking their order and greeted Sara with a hug. “I am almost ready to leave for lunch. Let me just refill Joshua’s cup for him.”
“Oh Joshua is here, I will go chat a little, while you finish up.” Sara said.
She pulled out a chair across from Joshua and he smiled, always enjoying to have someone to share a story with. He started telling Sara about one of his day’s at sea in a fishing boat, when a storm came.
Cara grabbed her box of chocolates and came to Joshua’s table telling Sara she was ready to go. They wished Joshua a good day and started walking towards the door.
“Hey Mason would you like to try some chocolate candy?” Cara asked walking towards the register where he was.
“Sure, thanks!” Mason said, grabbing 2 of them and popping them into his mouth.
Mason’s face got red and he spit out the candy! “Wha-wha!”
“Would you like some water?”
Cara handed him a glass. “Guess I put a little too many jalepeno peppers in the chocolate.” she said with a smirk.
Mason’s eyes grew like saucers.
“You do know what day today is, right? Happy April Fool’s!” Cara said, laughing with Sara as they walked out the door, headed to Tippner’s bicycle shop. There were more special chocolates to deliver.
Happy Tuesday! Listening to Blackmore’s Night, as I look for quotes. Always need some good music to listen to when I work on posts. Tuesday’s though are usually the only days I listen to music with lyrics. When writing stories I just like having relaxing instrumental music in the background. Do you listen to music when working on posts? If so, what kind?
I hope you can enjoy some good music while taking a few moments to relax and read the following quotes. As always, feel free to share which one or ones you liked the most. Have a wonderful day!
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Looking back through the old pictures of her photo album her gaze lingered on this picture. As a child she loved blowing on dandelions and making a wish. When she got older she knew that dandelions had no magic powers, but it was still fun to blow on one, and pretend that her wish would come true.
Smiling, Ava let her mind go back in time, remembering the different wishes she had made. She had wished for a unicorn but surprisingly one never showed up. Then she changed it to a horse, but was disappointed once again.
Sometimes her wishes were for Bobby, the next door neighbor, to stop pestering her. That wish didn’t work either, but as he got older he didn’t turn out too bad.
When she was 9 she remembered blowing on as many dandelions as she could wishing for a little puppy. Addison’s Mom got her a puppy and Susie had a puppy, Ava wanted one too! She still remembered the keen disappointment she felt when Daddy brought a kitty home for her instead. It didn’t take long though for Ava to fall in love with the black and white kitty. That first night it curled up on her chest, purring, and she was hooked. She named it Oreo after her favorite snack. There was nothing better than dipping her Oreo cookies into milk. After she ate all her Oreos she would give Oreo the rest of her milk to drink. They both loved snack time.
Who knew that Oreo would ignite in her a forever love of animals. She had special pets as she grew up and she continued when she got a place of her own. She now owned 3 cats and 1 dog, they all got along well and she couldn’t imagine life without them.
She had been working as the Director of the local shelter for 3 years now and it brought her happiness to be able to help the precious dogs and cats find forever homes.
Her friends joked with her that she may be scaring away MR. Right with her house full of animals, but that didn’t matter to her. Who needed men, she would always tell them.
Closing the photo album Ava stood up, much to the annoyance of Midnight that had been lying on her lap. Asher the Golden Retriever followed Ava with his eyes and when he saw her heading towards the door he got up to follow. He was always glad to take a romp outside.
Out the door they went and Ava watched Asher running around in the backyard, which was full of dandelions. She probably was the only neighbor that never mowed them down right away. She would wait until they covered her yard. Now she picked one up and reminded herself of her past motto that she didn’t need a guy. So why was she now picking up a dandelion, thinking about making a wish on a guy?
But Bobby wasn’t just any guy, she told herself. They had lost touch for awhile after going separate directions but recently they had caught up at their Highschool reunion and Ava was surprised by the stirrings in her heart. He had asked her out for tomorrow night, she heard herself saying yes, before she could stop herself. Closing her eyes, she blew on the dandelion, making a wish. Who knows, maybe Dandelion wishes can come true!
