Bugging You From San Juan Island

I was inspired to write this story after my daughter and I stopped to help a baby gosling this past spring that had been hit by a car and left cold and wet and unable to move along the side of the road.  It will hopefully inspire those who read it to slow down and take notice of the wonder of all the little creatures that share our space.  We should not be afraid to be good Samaritans when something needs our help.

The Little Gosling by Cynthia Brast

I was only a few days in the big world and never imagined I would have to leave my mom and dad and my brothers and sisters so soon. Not like this. I didn’t even get to see a day with the sunshine out. The big, black, rubber thing was so big…and my wings don’t work yet…I just didn’t get out of the way fast enough.

All of a sudden I felt awful. I couldn’t move. My brothers and sisters scattered away from that big thing. Where were my parents? There was nobody to help me.

The grass was wet and cold and I began to shiver. It was scary and I hurt. I heard a loud noise as another of those big rubber things rumbled by. I began to drift in and out of what seemed like a strange sleep.

The hurt was still there though. And the cold! My feathers began to soak through. They used to be so dry…and fluffy…and yellow. Now they were muddy and wet and stuck to my body. They weren’t keeping me warm anymore.

After a while, I heard a voice. It sounded kind and soft. I think it was a human. I don’t know much about people because my parents kept me away from them. Someone gently scooped me up out of the wet grass. Her voice was soothing and her hands were warm. That helped me not to shiver so much, but I still felt so awful.

Another voice with her said, “There’s another.” That person had found one of my little brothers. I didn’t know it, but he was nearby. Somehow the big rubber thing had missed him. He was just scared and didn’t know how to find our parents either. That person helped my brother. I listened as she softly spoke and told him not to worry. I heard him peeping and then he was gone. He had said “goodbye” to me. The voices let me know that he was back in the water and with the rest of my family. Safe.

But what was going to happen to me? The soothing voice took me to her home and nestled me into a box with something warm underneath. I heard her speaking softly to someone about a wildlife rehabilitation place. I didn’t know what that was, but guessed it was something like a hospital for little animals like me. She was going to take me there.

We rode in her car for what seemed a good while. It wasn’t what the voice had planned for her day, but being such a kind and gentle person she knew she needed to find help for me. All the way, the other voice spoke to me and gently  stroked my face. I still hurt, but it was comforting, like when my parents preened my feathers with their beaks.

I guess I slept a little, until I felt the box I was in lifted and carefully carried into this new place. The lid on my box was closed, so it was dark and I couldn’t see, but I trusted that I was in hands that were caring. The new voices were gentle too. They said I had been injured very badly from the car. Then I heard the voice that found me speaking again. Very softly she said I wouldn’t hurt anymore…

I am so glad she knew how to help. It wasn’t long before I finally started to feel the pain go away. I left behind that place where there wasn’t any sun out, but do you know what? I’m waking up in another place and even though my brothers and sisters and my parents aren’t here, there is a beautiful pond for me to swim in. My body doesn’t hurt anymore and now my wings and feathers are dry and fluffy. The water sparkles in the daytime, and at night the stars glittering in the sky come and dance across the water.

Now I’ve found a safe place where there aren’t loud noises or big rubber things to hurt me. There are people here too, and they are really nice. Do you know they all have wings too? Just like me! Except they are angels! Their voices are kind and gentle like the ones that found me along the road when I was hurt. Someday those soft‐voiced people will be here too. They belong to this world. Right now though, they have to stay where they found me because they help those that need to come here find the way. I asked them before I left to give a special message to my parents and to my brothers and sisters and let them know I am okay. I miss my family, but I know that someday I will see them again.

 

Text and photographs copyright 2011 by Cynthia Brast.  No part of this story may be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the author.

 

A Razzle-Dazzle Wingding!

by © Cynthia Brast 2011

A razzle-dazzle wingding…

I got it at the store…

Opened it at home…where it rolled out on the floor.

It seemed to come to life then,

And open-mouthed I watched

As my razzle-dazzle wingding

Turned into a Sas-quatch!

You almost never see them

(Some people never do)

But standing there in front of me,

Decked out in red, white, and blue

Stood my razzle-dazzle Sasquatch

As real as me or you.

All hairy and a little stinky,

He looked me up and down,

And asked me if there was

Some-thing to do in town.

I said, “Why yes! The County Fair

Is op-en-ing today,

But if YOU go, then you might scare

Ev’ryone away!”

My razzle-dazzle bigfoot

Scratched his hairy head,

And then he looked at me again

And this is what he said…

“Razzle-dazzle bigfoots,

Should be welcomed at the fair.

You never should dis-crim-i-nate

Because of a little hair.

We’ll ride the ferris wheel,

And eat some candied cotton.

After that, we’ll find the main stage,

Where I’ll never be forgotten!”

My bigfoot took the mike

And this is what he said,

“Hello! County Fair Folk –

Bigfoot isn’t DEAD!”

So all those non-believers

Got to see the proof

That Bigfooot really does exist

And that’s the honest truth!

There really is a Bigfoot

And he can even sing,

He made our county fair this year

A “Razzle-Dazzle” Fling!

 

Text and illustration copyright 2011 by Cynthia Brast and may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the author.

Just what exactly is it that makes this island so magical? Quite possibly it has something to do with advice a friend gave me shortly after I moved here.  “Be yourself…doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, just go with it!”  I’m sure there are limits with that statement because obviously it’s not a green light to go and break all sorts of laws (look what happened to the Barefoot Burglar)…but if you wanted to paint your house purple OR decorate your lawn with a Cow and Pig, you’d fit right in!   Ok, so there are a FEW people on San Juan Island who might get uptight about that sort of thing.  Some of them recently complained and got the “Free-pile” shut down.  That wasn’t nice.  I suppose those are the residents who might be better off re-locating to where I came from….”homogeoamerica” – land of the McMansions, McTidy lawns, McWalmarts, McEscalades, McCoffees…..AND McFootball!

Okay,  well so there!  I said it!  I’d had enough of what I left behind, so the quirky-ness of the island I readily embraced.  And the people here…well, some of them might be “quirky” too, but I wouldn’t interpret that in a derogatory way.  That person who has the wacky yard ornament might be the first person donating time and effort to raise money when your loved one is sick in the hospital and can’t work.  It might be the guy with the freepile who donates artwork or organizes the community to raise funds for the school, or the person with the purple house who offers to drive your elderly mother to the grocery.  And without a doubt, it means that someone waves to you when you drive into town or stops to pick you up when you have to hitch because your car is in the shop.  It means you get a hug at the post office…or a pat on the back and “how are you?” at the grocery store.   It’s a community of folks who care…in a BIG way!

So…about where I started with Cow and Pig?  Well, they’re inviting YOU to the San Juan County Fair.   Come see for yourself how nice folks here are!  August 17-20, gates open from 10am to 9pm.

When we moved this past spring, my daughter absolutely forbade me to feed the wildlife.  Somehow or another, they always find me…in Dallas it was Suzy the Squirrel!  Izzy the Rabbit…well, she lives IN the house with me!  At our last house, it was “Momma” raccoon.  She had cataracts and could barely see.  Unfortunately, she had friends who showed up to dine with her.  At first there were only 7.  We jokingly called them the “seven dwarves.”  Then, after the number climbed past 10 to 13, well….that’s when the “no-feeding the wildlife” rule came about!

So new house…no wildlife!  Got it??? Wrong!  Last week, I kid you not, the deer walked right up to me.  I know enough about wildlife that it’s best to just stay still.  They are skittish and don’t like sudden movements.  Having a wild rabbit (that really isn’t wild anymore) live with me has taught me much about how wild things like to get acquainted.  So, I just stood there and didn’t move while she sniffed me a bit.  She decided to lick my hand.  I gave her head a good scratch.  That was all it took for us to become “friends.”

My daughter, Amanda says it is my voice.  She calls me “Snow White.”  Sometimes she calls me “Dr. Doolittle.”  The deer got a name too…Twinkle!  I guess she’s decided she likes me.  I have carrots….and alfalfa pellets to hand out as treats.  Twinkle gets a good head scratch and I get a “petting” zoo in my front yard.

So the “don’t feed the wildlife” rule?  I guess it’s been bent a little.

If you look closely you can see it.  At first I didn’t.  It was just another sunset.  Nothing special.  I filed the photo away with the other “sunset” pictures… but one day when I was out walking, I saw one!  My first sunbow.  It looked like a “sign” from heaven.  Apocalyptic maybe?  Was it a warning?   Perhaps it was, but not of something ominous.  For me, it existed as a sign to “slow down” and not miss the wonders of the world around me.  I didn’t have my camera when I saw that sunbow.  I wish I had been able to capture it for others to see.  Later, I remembered the photos saved in the “sunset” folder though.  There it was…waiting for me to recognize the subtle dispersal of colors surrounding the sun as it retired for the day!

“Ahoy Matey!” Ready for a boat ride in Friday Harbor, WA? Lots of fun summer things to do coming up….County Fair starts next week 🙂

I am a graduate student studying Entomology via a distance eduction program through the University of Florida.  In 2009, I moved to San Juan Island, WA where I have picked up my camera again.  My photography can be viewed  online at www.cynthiabrast.com.