Hi, all-
 
It was a busy week here, not such good news!
 
We did have one very sweet reunion, our two newest members of the Benita
Gang, Bailey and Beema crossed the Bridge at almost the same time, and
have been here learning the ropes together.  The whole Benita Gang went
with our newcomers to the Fruit Bar and actually *ate it dry* of
everything except four of the tiny black mission figs and a handfull of
watermelon chunks.  The rasins, prunes, cantaloupe, honeydew, all gone!
Orange wedges, candied lemon peel, fruit leather roll ups, dried,
sweetened cranberries, all gone!  The whole gang wound up with hard,
round full bellies sleeping in the grass together like a flock of little
sheep in the sun while the Big Boss restocked.  Nobody here has ever seen
such an eating binge before, we'll be talking about it for lifetimes!
 
Bailey and Beema both say that they love it here, and are busily
selecting a sofa to move into .  There are, however, thousands to try
out in the vast Field of Sofas, it may be weeks before they select just
the right one for themselves.  They are both kind of partial to cordeuroy
fabric, it holds the fur better.  This is very important in developing
just the right personal scent markers over time.  You are your smell,
when you arae a ferret!
 
They say that they miss their mommy, but they know that they will see her
again, someday.  In the meantime, they are seriopusly considering the
possibility of a sleeper sofa so that she will have a bed when she comes
to visit.  They hope she likes cordeuroy.
 
A little girl named Riley came asross the Bridge this week, too.  Her
cagemate Rikki was here to greet her, also her Brother in Fur, Jako.
Riley crossed well, with no hesitation or anxiety.  She said that she
had been dreaming about the Bridge, so the reality of it was no surprise
to her.  She is happy to be feeling strong again.
 
Jako and Rikki both know how much Riley loved to stash her daddy James'
things in the World of the Living.  (If it wasn't nailed down it was
hers.  If it *was* nailed down it was hers, too.) They knew just where
to take her, once she had gotten a little practice with her new wings.
 
The four of us flew over green fields, and over vast swaths of colorful
wildflowers.  We flew until we could see the sunlight glittering on the
sea, and then we settled down one at a time on the soft white sand.
First we all had to have a good dig.  Wow, did we ever get sand on our
wings!  We finally took them off and hung them on mangrove bush branches
to get blown clean by the seabreeze.  No worries that someone would mess
with them while we were gone, here it is a rule that you never handle
someone elses wings if you come upon them, it wouldn't be polite!
 
Jako lead us over the sand and to a grey stone cliff face.  The waves
smashed against the base of the cliff at high tide, and we had to be
careful climbing the slippery rock, crusted with barnacles and strands of
limp kelp.  About twenty feet above the water there was a little crack in
the rock, just big enough for a ferret to sneak through, which we all
did, one at a time.  It was pretty dark inside the space we found
ourselves in, but we ferrets are good in the dark.  We sniffed our way
around carefully, and felt along with our whiskers.
 
It was a cave, a little cave about the size of a hoomin's car.  Huge to
us!  And it was a present for Riley from Jako and Rikki.  It was to be
Riley's own private Pirate Cave to stash her little treasures in forever
and ever!  Riley was so excited!  It was a v ery thoughtful gift, indeed!
She wardanced in the dark, in that hugh vaulted space and dooked echoing
dooks!  She can't wait to get started!
 
Another little girl crossed the Bridge this week.  Her name was mischief,
and that's what she likes to perform when she can, especially when it
comes to empty plastic bottles and jugs.  She was another extraordinary
stasher!
 
Well, I took her right to the Red Canyon Lands.  Near the red sandstone
canyon full of pristene, white rolls of toilet paper to shred (there
are millions of them) there is another canyon, as wide across as the
eye can see, and full of plastics of every kind, glittering in the sun.
Tupperware!  Recyclable everything!  Beverage bottles, beverage jugs,
clear plaastic tubes, shampoo bottles and more!  All fresh, soft,
unchewed plastic!  All hers.
 
Mischief was so overwhelmed by the enormity of it that she began to cry
a little.  She said that at first she wasn't sure how she was going to
handle life without her mommy Melissa's love at first, but now she knows
that her life here will be rich and full.  There are a million more jugs
and bottles here than she can *ever * drag away and stash!  A million
million!  Ands some day, a long time from now, she is going to give her
mommy her favourite one.  Then she is going to steal it from her and hide
it under a bush.
 
We had one other girl come across the Bridge that I won't forget for a
long time.Her name was Felicia.  Her Brother Bear was with me to greet
her, as well as a most extraordinary cat, Kitty Bob.  Usually we
discourage cat friends from coming to the Ferret After World.  You never
know when one of them is going to snap beneath the weight of all that
temptation, and try to well, hunt.  I don't even like to think about it.
It has happened, from time to time.
 
Bear, however, was able to vouch for Kitty Bob, and he came across the
Bridge with his Cat Greeter, Boots.  I hadn't seen Boots in a long time,
so it was nice to catch up on things and talk a little shop.  He smelled
great, he had come from the Giant Pile of Fur Mice, and he still smelled
like them.  Yummy!  We have one of those here, too.  Never can stash
enough fur mice!
 
Felisha and Bear and Kitty Bob and Boots and I spread out a plaid wool
blanket on the grass beneath the blossoming lilac (purple, that day) and
settled in for a nice visit.  The Business of Felisha, Bear, and Kitty
Bob told some very funny stories about their Mommy, Ruby.  They really
miss her, but they are enjoying their forever Forever Homes, too.  There
is so much to see and do here!
 
After a while it was time for Kitty Bob and Boots to have lunch, which
they crossed the Bridge to do.  Believe me, you do *not* want to see a
cat eat!  And they don't want any rasins.  We keep dining strictly
segregated in the Afterworlds.  You she see the Bat Afterworlds menu!!
*GAK!*
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4517]