Doris A. Plough - Arent We Cute?

Arent We Cute?

DORIS A. PLOUGH
Illustrations by the author

AuthorHouse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1-800-839-8640

2013 DORIS A. PLOUGH. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/11/2013

ISBN:978-1-4817-1939-1 (sc)

ISBN:978-1-4817-1940-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013904567

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

A very beautiful and amazing bit of wonder came into our lives recentlythe wonder of nature in her finest moment, the moment of creation.

We had been away on an extended trip. Upon our return, we noticed that a mother dove had made a nest in a hanging basket right outside our big dining room window. Because we had drawn the shade while we were gone, we decided to keep it that way, so as not to disturb her. We came back in the middle of May, but since we did not know how long she had been sitting on the nest, we didnt know when to expect the eggs to hatch.

Soon, however, we were aware of small movements in the nest and the wonder of it all: two tiny fluffy heads emerged one morning to greet us. We felt like new parents ourselves, such was our involvement in this wonderful episode.

Even though the shade was drawn, we could still peek through it. And since we were ever so quiet, the mother bird and her offspring didnt seem aware of our presence.

I was really concerned about the mother bird having enough to eat, so we very carefully placed a small dish of birdseed near her. However, one day when I was peeking under the shade, the father bird made an appearance. He was a bit lighter in color than his mate. After a few words of bird conversation, she flew from the nest, presumably to go hunting for food. Dad, on the other hand, settled in as if he were resigned to his duties as a father, caring for the newborns.

As the days progressed, the babies seemed most anxious to grow big and healthy, so they could take their rightful place in the bird kingdom. Mom still seemed to want to cuddle them, as she would try to keep them tucked under her. But they would have none of this. Out they would pop from underneath her, shaking themselves, as if they were trying to escape her mothering.

As they grew bigger, we began to wonder how much longer the small basket would hold the three birds. Dad still came by on a regular basis, but now the babies were eager, demanding even, for the goodies he would bring, and I had a feeling it was a little overpowering for him.

Then one morning, during my usual look out the dining room window, my heart fell: The nest was empty, and the day I had been dreading had finally arrived. A great sadness filled me, for I realized at that moment that I had grown quite attached to that little bird family. Oh, I realize that it is all in the course of nature, but I suppose in my heart I had grown too fond of their presence outside our dining room window.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the mothers soft, gentle eyes and sweet face as well as those charming, fluffy babies.

If ever you have a chance to observe firsthand the wonder of Mother Nature, treasure that special experienceit will live in your heart forever!

The world can be a strange and magically mystic place. You probably wont believe what I am about to tell you, but believing is what it is all about.

Megan was a black Scottish terrier. As a puppy attending obedience school, she quickly gave us the understanding that she was very much her own lady. She would do very little that was asked of her in class. We even accused her of being a dunce and thought of making a pointed hat for her to wear!

Shortly thereafter, however, we noticed that she had indeed taken her lessons to heart, as she began to obey many of the commands she had been taught in class. She just wanted to practice them in her own time frame.

We began to realize that she was truly an independent soul, though extremely loving to all in our family. We had an older dog, a West Highland white terrier, who had been diagnosed with a faulty heart valve as a puppy. Even as a younger dog, Megan became his protector and mother hen. She seemed to sense early on that the world was a pretty tough place for him and made it her business to take care of him. We truly believe that Megan gave seven more years to his life.

After he passed on, another Westie pup joined our family, and he immediately fell in love with Megan, everybody did.

Here is where the story takes on the magical sense, because as Megan began to get older, we began to notice some very unusual behavior on her part. For example, upon rising in the morning and going out for a nature-calls stroll, she would hurry back to the house in anticipation of her breakfast. On the top step of the landing, while waiting for the door to open, she very distinctly was heard to utter a genuine purr!

At first, we thought we were imagining things, but it happened too many times to ignore or deny. Oh, she didnt always put forth this magical effort, but when she did, it was indeed a purr!

We consulted our local vet, who had known Megan since her puppy days, and he just looked at us with a very perplexed look, eyebrows raised as if to say, Oh, sure.

So we agreed that no one would really believe us and that it would have to be one of those little secrets that most families seem to have. But lets face it: this was something too rare not to share. Dogs dont purror do they? Who knows what wonderful plans God extends to His creations. Maybe it was the anticipation of a great bowl of food or the joy of a wonderful new day of doggie adventures that prompted that sound from deep within her throat. Perhaps we will never understand, but this I do know: If you do not allow yourself to believe, you are missing out on some of lifes great joys!