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Misty was a labrador pup, black and tiny. She wouldn’t stay that way long. She was on the move, on the go. She was digging up my mother’s tulips, peeing on the rug, pooping on the couch. She wasn’t terribly well like by my mother. In retrospect, giving a puppy to a six year old without asking her parents isn’t a very good idea.

Posted By naturemummy On 08.18.2012 @ 12:04 am

I took a certain comfort in convincing that I wasn’t entirely alone. Surely someone else had experienced this kind of thing before. I simply wasn’t prepared for it all. I was taken aback, and then some. I took a deep breath, set my shoulders square, and prepared my bravest face as I stepped out into the light. After all, there had to be someone else in the world who’d suddenly woken up with an alarmingly sparkly alicorn in the middle of their forehead.

Posted By naturemummy On 08.20.2012 @ 11:55 am

‘You’re in the no fly zone again,” he muttered under his breath. His grandson, focused, didn’t notice his disapproval. He never did. He simply adjusted the straps of his paraglider and stepped off the lip of the canyon, buoyed by the winds that swept the rock bare.

Posted By naturemummy On 08.17.2012 @ 12:26 am

What do I want? I want the luxury of a good night’s sleep, the decadence of a hot meal, the relaxation of a long, hot shower. I want it, but not enough. Not enough to let her out of my sight for even a moment. My infant daughter, and the light of my life.

Posted By naturemummy On 08.14.2012 @ 1:32 pm

The banks of the river were muddy, cracking in the sun when the water was low. The hawk eyed the fish trapped in the small pools created by the cracks, biding his time until the pool was almost gone, evaporating in the summer heat. His dinner laid out for him, warmed in the sun and tasting of despair. But the wee fish had a friend in the universe after all, and with a crack of thunder it began to rain…

Posted By naturemummy On 08.13.2012 @ 6:14 pm

She was constantly reading and sending texts while driving. He, a confirmed Luddite, found this rather disconcerting. Nervous just being in a car, he questioned the politeness of pointing out the squirrel she’d run over while clickety-clacking away on her phone, an event she had yet to notice. What exactly was the protocol for pointing out roadkill on a first date?

Posted By naturemummy On 08.10.2012 @ 11:52 pm

Of all the substances in the world, he loved the illegal ones best. Delicious, delicious deviance. It didn’t matter what they did per se, it was the act alone that thrilled him to his fingertips. It rattled his core, forcing him out of his everyday CEO persona.

Posted By naturemummy On 08.08.2012 @ 11:50 pm

“I dare you to finally do it,” she thought to herself, “I dare you to finally leave him.” Was it wrong to stay in a loveless marriage for the children’s sake? Was she setting the right example for her daughter allowing herself to be treated like this? If she left would she just be telling them that it’s alright to run away from your problems?

Posted By naturemummy On 08.05.2012 @ 10:41 pm

She held the key, poised and ready, in her hand. Her skin felt prickly with anticipation. She took a deep breath. “Be brave,” she told herself. She closed her eyes, screwed up her courage, turned the key in the lock, and pushed…

Posted By naturemummy On 08.04.2012 @ 5:41 pm

It wasn’t a secret, but she didn’t feel right telling anyone about it. Her big day. Was it all just a dream? Would he really be there when she returned home that night? Was he really as wonderful today as he was yesterday? Maybe her mom was right, but then again maybe she wasn’t. Just because most marriages after a one-day relationship don’t last doesn’t mean hers wouldn’t.

Posted By naturemummy On 08.03.2012 @ 10:58 pm

She tossed each camera aside as the elephants drew closer. None were good enough, none were ready, none had the perfect lens in place. This moment could make or break her career. The perfect shot just might get her the job at National Geographic she’d been dreaming of since she was 8 years old. A slow, steady smile blossomed on her face as her fingers clicked the shutter of her favourite camera again and again.

Posted By naturemummy On 08.02.2012 @ 11:54 pm

She emptied the cabinets carefully, stowing the usable contents in a plastic container. There was blood everywhere, bits of sinew and brains. She sighed, wondering again why on earth she ever took the job. “I suppose even crime scenes need a clean up crew,” she thought to herself.

Posted By naturemummy On 07.28.2012 @ 1:30 pm

She tugged at the wad of bubble gum stuck in her hair and sighed. That was stupid. Why did she have to experiment with everything she heard? Don’t put bubble gum in your hair, they said, and sure enough, they were right. The scissors clipped dully at the pink mass of tangled hair, fraying slowly at the edges just like her faith in herself.

Posted By naturemummy On 07.26.2012 @ 12:12 am

And really, the icing on the cake was hardly a surprise – he’d simply stopped coming by, returning her calls. As if he’d never existed in the first place. Only he had, and the child growing in her womb wouldn’t let her forget him.

Posted By naturemummy On 07.22.2012 @ 6:39 pm

“He suspects something is going on,” I warned her. The elephant in the room needed to talk. He was positively bursting with keeping his own silence. I strode over to him, and addressed him directly, “I have no idea what elephants like to talk about, but I’d love to hear what you have to say.” He fixed his eyes upon me, “I think that you people are petty and mean, but you love. You love unconditionally, and this is why I stay in this room.”

Posted By naturemummy On 07.20.2012 @ 11:27 pm

placing the lion onto the stretcher was a conundrum he couldn’t solve on his own, and the lion would surely awaken soon. He scanned the gathering crowd for just the right sort of person to help; strong without being too aggressive, wary but not too frightened, and just foolish enough to help with such a task. Three people stood out; an adventurous looking sort of young woman, an older gentlemen who looked like he had a few stories to tell, and a gangly looking teenager who looked like he was used to being picked last. Yes, they would do fine. This lion would change their lives forever.

Posted By naturemummy On 07.19.2012 @ 12:27 am

they utilized the ground sonar equipment, hoping everyday to discover the artifacts that would renew their funding before their time was up. Everyday a silent prayer for anything; pot shards, an old bowl, evidence of middens in the muck.

Posted By naturemummy On 07.17.2012 @ 11:26 pm

As we tore down the Christmas decorations for the last time, he didn’t seem sad to say goodbye to the festivities. He didn’t mind letting go of the turkey. He didn’t say anything about no more Santa. He didn’t remind me of the mistletoe. We simply tore it down with a finality that belied words. There would be no more Christmases

Posted By naturemummy On 07.16.2012 @ 10:48 pm

every morning, as always, the zoo crew prepared to feed the animals, and shovel the turds of the day. Pails of water sloshed in the back of the buggy as they drove, sleepily, deeper into the zoo, where the morning sounds of lion roars, monkey screams, wolf howls, and cockatiel squawks rose to greet them

Posted By naturemummy On 07.15.2012 @ 11:27 pm