Hi, all.
 
I met a little guy named Baldy the other day.  His Brother in Fur Twisty
came along with me.
 
Twisty and Baldy had bad luck, then the best luck that ferrets can ever
have!  Twisty, Baldy, and their companion Ferris (who is still in the
World of the Living) had bad hoomins.  Very bad hoomins, and that is
very bad luck for a ferret.  But then they were rescued, and they got a
forever home with a Mommie who loved them every single day!  That is the
very best luck!
 
Baldy was never very good at keeping his fur.  He was bald when he came
to his good forever home.  He got some help from a vet, and he got his
fur back.  He just couldn't keep it!  In his final illness, he lost every
bit of it again.  When I met him coming across the Bridge, though, he had
a beautiful, lush coat that would be the envy of any mink!  Soft and
shiny and oh, so sleek.
 
Baldy and Twisty were very happy to be together once more.  They touched
noses, and sniffed one another, very carefully.  Finally, they started to
laugh with joy, and they began to War Dance and pogo!  Baldy told me what
he wanted to see first, he had been dreaming about it during his final
illness.  We all strapped on wings, and off we went!
 
We flew over fields and quiet ponds.  We flew over forrests, and over dry
grassland.  Finally, we saw something shining brightly on the horizon,
almost too brightly to look at!  As we got closer, we could begin to
see the long, peaked roofline of an enormous greenhouse!  As long as a
football field.  The light was the reflection of the sun on the glass.
 
We landed next to it, and took off our wings.  The high humidity of a
greengouse isn't good for them!  Through the swinging glass door, and
we were in!
 
This isn't just an ordinary greenhouse, this one belongs to the Big Boss.
We're not sure what he does when he's in there, but he says it relaxes
him.  There are little worlds in there, the most beautiful, complex glass
terrariums you could ever imagine.  There are clusters of hanging clear
glass jars full of water lillies and brightly colored swimming fish.  The
bigger the jar, the bigger the fish!
 
There are little patches of sand filled with tiny flowering cactus, and
edged with shiny green jade pebbles.
 
There are shallow frog ponds for the smallest singing green frogs that
you can imagine, complete with miniature ferns for them to hide in and
sing their bright songs of territory and love.
 
Once, I thought I saw a rock move out from under a potted palm in a tub.
It was really an enormous tortise!  There is so much life here, though,
that a living rock kind of wouldn't be a surprise.  There is even a glass
box with a single, miniature bonzai tree.  Floating above the tree and
captured under the lid along with it, is a swirling mist, a wisp of fog.
The tiniest drops of rain fall from that mist onto the mossy little tree!
 
We spent hours here, smelling the fresh soil, breathing in the perfume of
the jewel colored blossoms.  We saw hummingbirds and butterflies!  We saw
wonderful things!  We stayed until the sun started to set, and the light
started to fade.
 
Finally, we went out the swinging glass door in time to see the first
evening star.  The three of us sat quietly for a time, and then Baldy
started to talk about his life.  He said he felt sorry for his first bad
hoomins, who didn't seem to understand what love was, or what it was for.
His forever Mommy knew, though.
 
Somed day, a long time from now, he is going to thank his Mommy
personally.
 
Sandee
[Posted in FML issue 4370]