Conversations with Critters
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the Critters decode a cryptic mystery…
Today, Critters, we are taking you with us on a Field Trip of Outstanding Natural Beauty. But first! We had to wait for the fog to lift as we were under a Dense Fog Advisory throughout the morning. Safety is paramount on the path unwinding and we want to live to tell the tale. So there’s that. Patience. Patience. And now we return to our regularly scheduled programming with our Core Community Critters hot on the trail of a deep deep mystery. Please, join us now in excellent critter conversation as we decode and solve a cryptic message.
Heidi: Hello, Friends! Welcome to our episode of intrepid exploration! We are ready set go! You’ve got this. We are out of here! Our destination is stunning, beautiful and outstanding. The gentle rolling hills are studded with Oregon White Oak, expansive grasslands, the savannah ever so natural, so native to the Willamette Valley, the original wildlands in this otherwise agriculturally cultivated fertile environment. And did we also say vineyards? Yes, this is one of the world’s premier wine producers.
But! Again! We are focused on the naturally natural wild places which we must protect and cherish. We strive to be of service to all flora and fauna that populates this spectacular environment. A Bald Eagle flies by and signals the totemic power of our communion with Nature. Thank you for being here with us.
We press on in the cold. Do you see all of the lichen? The indicator of invigorating clean air. Breathe in deep deep and exhale all the way out. Oh! Critters! Suddenly and already! We not only have a Bald Eagle soaring overhead but a dabbling paddling duck is feeding in the marsh, a species previously unheard of at Conversations with Critters. Before we go any further, let’s share a photo for the edification and enjoyment of our readers so everyone can observe this incredible critter who is the perfect locomotor of form and function.
Meanwhile, back at the Condo…
Panda: Where is our Hooman? I woke up from my nap after my walk this morning and all I can find are a couple of stale wilted organic baby peeled carrots in my bowl. Although they are peeled which is appropriate, this is in all other respects completely unacceptable and I am hungry.
Chris: What.
Jasper: Look! She left a note!
Panda: Let me see it immediately!
Jasper: Oh no! Oh no! It’s completely cryptic!
Chris: Critters, we’ll have to decipher it at once.
Panda: It is truly and deeply mysterious. What could it mean?
Jasper: PNW NWR Baskett S.
Chris: It makes absolutely pawsitively no sense.
Panda: Let’s work with this, Critters. Let’s sound it out. Chris, you go first.
Chris: P is for Poopemoji.
Jasper: P is for Trashpanda.
Panda: P is for Pacific.
Chris: N is for Nope.
Jasper: N is for Never.
Panda: N is for North.
Chris: W is for Whatevah.
Jasper: W is for Water.
Panda: W is for West.
Chris: The second part, NWR, needs to be decoded. Another N. N is for Nope.
Jasper: This sure sounds redundant. N is for Never.
Panda: N is for National.
Chris: W is for Whatevah.
Jasper: W is for Water. So redundant. We’ll never find her!
Panda: Please, Jasper Kitten, remain calm. W is for Wildlife.
Chris: Steady, Critters, easy. R is for Rest.
Jasper: Oh no oh no! R is for Redundancy. How are we going to solve this and find our Hooman? How! I ask you! I beg of you!
Panda: R is for Refuge.
Chris: Critters, we are this close to cracking the code! Baskett S. The S is for Snacks.
Jasper: Oh this is so hard! I don’t know what S stands for! It’s too cryptic!
Panda: S is for Slough.
Chris: I am confident in my cracking of the cryptic code as follows: Poopemoji Nope Whatevah Nope Whatevah Rest Baskett Snacks. Jasper Kitten, what is your answer?
Jasper: I’ve gone into hiding in the box spring. The end.
Panda: Critters, I have the answer to the location of our Hooman. Pacific Northwest National Wildlife Refuge Baskett Slough.
Chris: Location location location, Critters. She has gone on a Field Trip of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Now we can get some rest.
Panda: But I’m still hungry. Can’t you knock something onto the floor before you take your nap?
Chris: Of course. Consider it done. The end.
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Northern Shoveler
Dabbling paddling duck
Form fits the function
By Jasper Kitten, Chris & Panda
Love this: "Critters decode a cryptic mystery." So true... if we only take the time to stop, look, breathe, listen. When you truly see the expanse of the "critter world," we are such a tiny, insignificant piece...
Nice write-up and I love the photo of the cat - no writing with pens today!