Hi everyone,
 
Critterpen here.  All ten of our little loveable fuzzies are doing fairly
well now.  I was reading the one piece about the ferret who saw blue sky and
ran away and it reminded me of a funny little incident with my second
ferret, Hilfy, who was a very loveable ferret.  She and Mij took part in the
art shows at our county fair where I was superintendent of art for many
years.
 
The first time I took baby Hilfy outside, she was around 6 months old.  She
had on her harness and leash and was riding on my shoulder, her favorite
place to be.  Unfortunately for Hilfy, just as we stepped out into the blue
skies and sunshine, an Army helicopter flew overhead.  Instincts told Hilfy
that this was a BIG, BAD, NOISY, hawk and she reacted with extreme alarm.
Clinging to me and chattering and hiding her head in my armpit (ugh).  For
the rest of her six years, Hilfy would not go outside.  She only went if she
was in a carrier and safe from "the hawk in the sky".
 
If any of you have read C.  J.  Cherryh's "The Pride of Chanur", you will
know where Hilfy got her name and yes she was just as impetuous as her
literary namesake.
 
Cheryl, Vivian and the ten lovers.
[Posted in FML issue 2075]