Dear Ferret Folks-

A very happy mink memory from my vault of "I love him to death"
memories involving my nephew--

Three or four winters ago my nephew Alexander, his mother (my sister)
and I were driving through a stretch of swampy woods. As an aside, yes
New England does indeed have a lot of great, dark, mud-sucking swamps
because we are only recently de-glaciated. They are full of high-bush
blueberries and recently, beaver works.(I told you so Al Johnson, yes I
did!) Think very dark stretches of forest and frozen over black water
with clumps of dried grasses and sedges sticking up out of the ice.

We were in my old Chevy Astro van. Not the best on mileage, but with
acres of wrap around glass and visibility front and back. Alexander was
in the back seat in his mandatory kid high chair. Sister and I were up
front. Alex was around four at the time.

I was driving slowly, there were a few inches of new snow on the ground
and I really, *really* didn't want to skid and wind up in the broad
stretch of water and ice just to the left of the road. Suddenly, out of
the pines ahead of us as we rounded a curve stepped a magnificent dark
minky fellow, jet black against the snow. You could see the padding of
muscles beneath the fur. Little white chin. He looked right at us,
raised his head and sniffed the air. He wasn't the least bit
intimidated by us. It was *his* swamp.I slowed to a stop so everyone
could see.

My sister and I made squealy noises more appropriate to teenaged fans
at a Jonas Brothers concert than to a nature walk. But my nephew won
the day by taking a deep breath and bellowing "FEWWET!" at the top of
his lungs. I love that kid. "FEWWET!", indeed.

Alexandra in MA

[Posted in FML 6826]