Sunny is not the weather forecast nor is it the name of a fluffy little white Bunny.  In this case Sunny is a tiny wisp of a Honey Bee who flies among the flowers to gather nectar to make honey.  This Honey Bee named herself Sunny to set herself apart from the millions of other bees that shared the Hive and did the exact same work and were her twins as they all looked alike. Her place in the Hive was somewhere in the middle because she was one of the many, many, ordinary bees who, just like her were simple, ordinary female Working Honey Bees. She did not tend to the Legendary Queen, or her eggs. The male Drones did that work. In fact Sunny was so ordinary that she had never even seen the Queen, even though she had been given to understand that every Hive had to have one Queen in order to exist. Sunny’s job was simply to go out every day in search of nectar to bring back to fill the empty honey comb cells as fast as they were created by others. She wasn’t even one of the elder class, who made wax to build the millions of tiny water proof compartments that were built by those trained Worker Bees with more experience, who had been taught by their elders the secret of the Bee’s abdominal glands which produced chemicals to turn the nectar into wax for building these containers. The Drone’s only took care of the Queen and fertilized some of her eggs, which grew into more Drones.  The rest would automatically grow into female Worker Bees like Sunny. But if any named themselves Betty, Barbie or Sally, she didn’t know which they were as they all...

If I were a story I would start like this… Once upon a time… that is a good story start because it lets the reader decide which time.  It can be long ago in the past or just the day before… but not tomorrow. Then after you have a start you must begin at once to create some characters in that time.  Children make good characters because they are so interesting; Especially those who have reached the age of reason.  They will know at once what time they are in and begin to do interesting things.  Some more interesting than others. Let’s say we want a pair of children.  So they can speak to each other and decide what they want to do that day… in that story.  That way you do not have to do all of the work yourself.  If they are too young to drive away in a car then perhaps they have bicycles, if not, they must walk or run. Oh oh, they are running.  Are they running away from something or in a hurry to get someplace?  I don’t see anyone chasing them, so they must be in a hurry to get someplace fun. Ahh, there it is… up ahead.  I see an Amusement Park.  It is a small one with a Merry-go-round, a tall enough Ferris wheel, and there just a head is what they are running right to… the Ponies. They each want one and they each have the price of a short ride so they buy the ticket and choose a Pony. Now the two of them, a boy, Hayden and a girl named Kyren are going slowly around the fenced in circle slowly bouncing up and down as they cling to the horses reins. Oh...

“My goodness look at that clock!  I’m running late.”  Mother called from the kitchen.  “Will one of you children please bring me my purse from the closet.  I need my cell phone and it’s in my purse, hanging on a hook in the closet by the front door.” The children were all around the room very busy playing.  Playing is not easy.  Have you ever tried to get those tiny Leggos put together, or the dress off of a doll with a big head, or work a hundred piece jigsaw puzzle?  It’s hard work. “I would Mommy,  but I’m busy trying to get this dolly out of her good dress so I can put on her new night gown.”   Isabella explained from her place on the floor next to the small trunk full of Doll clothes. “I’m building a bridge over the train track for the cars to go over.”  Hayden looked up from his knees on the rug by the big round train track, to tell his Mom why he was too busy right now. “I can’t leave yet because I have to find where the last six pieces in this puzzle fit in.”  Beverly sighed.  “It is very hard working on this little coffee table.  “Make Jake to give me some room on the big table.” “I’d get the purse, but I’m reading my book right now and it’s so exciting.”  Kyren said from the sofa by the lamp. “ I have to find out what happens next.” “I can as soon as I finish painting this model car blue.” Jake called from the table where the newspapers to protect the table from spilled paint were spread all over the place. Willy had looked up at hearing his Mom’s request and...

The little orange kitten opened his eyes to the world for the very first time.  It was a much bigger place than he expected from what he heard while he was gradually awakened by his birth Mother.  Anxious to see what everything was all about, he hopped out of the bed he shared with the rest of his still sleeping litter and went for a short wobbly walk. His birth Farm was very interesting with some giant animals like the horses,  and the little ones almost as small as he was or smaller, like the baby chicks others in between consisted of cocky roosters and egg laying hens, ducks, swans and then the one baby goat who tried to butt him as he walked by. What wonders must the rest of big world have if this Farm had so many?  He decided at once that he must see all of the world.  But it was much larger than even he could imagine and he would unexpectedly travel over much more if it than he could even guess. The curious little Kitten decided to venture beyond the fence that surrounded the Farm, even though it was very interesting right here. His walking was not yet steady as he looked at the different new scenery. So he grew tired and decided to sit awhile and just rest a minute.  Just outside of the gate he was frightened by four very big, black, dogs.  But they yawned as he strolled slowly by.  They were all four stretched out sleeping, so were not a threat. Maybe the seven little spotted pups who wrestled each other endlessly would stop jumping on each other and chase him,  but they didn’t.  It was still very exciting. But pretty soon he got...

“Shhh, he will hear you.”  Eight year old, Kelly was looking for the children who had run to hide as well as possible in the time it took him to count to fifty, which was a fairly long time, as he had gotten confused about what number came next and had actually started over.  That might not have been in the rules…  but what could a guy do? As soon as he arrived at number fifty he immediately pulled off the blind fold and began to look around for the six kids who had run off at number one… the first number one. There was not a child,  boy or girl, in view.  So he did a slow turn trying to decide which way looked to have the most likely hiding places.  Kelly was hampered by a temporary blindness, left by the tightly tied blind fold put on by Bella, who the oldest at nine and did a mean knot. The sun was low, so soon they would all have to go home, once it had gone down.  This game may not be finished before then, which was fine with Kelly, as he simply hated to be “it!” He stepped quietly to the left toward the cave he knew was on that side of the beach.  The sand gave up no clues as about two million foot prints had been pounded into it since it was smooth as silk after the morning’s high tide. If he was very quiet he might hear one of the girls giggle.  Seven year olds  Kyren, his own sister, Rory and little Victoria,  were unable to stay very quiet for very long, being , you know, girls.  The boys, nine year old, Hayden,  Skyler,  youngest at six  and especially...

A MAGIC FICTION It could look a little bit better but Jane was tired of working on it so decided to settle for good enough.  But unwillingly she let the words her Mother always said at a time like this pop into her head…  Mother said this every time, “A job worth doing is worth doing well.”  There were many days when Jane wished she had been taught that a job may be good enough when it wasn’t getting any better.  Perhaps she would teach her own daughter that so she wouldn’t feel guilty when she just didn’t want to always waste her time trying to get everything so perfect.    When she gets a daughter… after she gets married… as soon as she finds a guy to marry… or even one who calls for a second date,… if she ever gets a first date. Jane was an old, fifteen and a half, who had never been kissed or pursued by a boy.  She had to admit some of that was her fault, because she disappeared into the background as often as she could, just to avoid being the center of attention.  But the question was how could it be better?  She sat before the old mahogany dresser she had been polishing and looked into the three way scalloped mahogany framed mirror she had just cleaned and wondered, Why do only Princesses in Fairy Tales have Magic Mirrors that show them the way to be better?   But there she was a plain girl with a plain name staring back at her with her dark blonde hair pulled back out of the way held tightly in a rubber band. But as she sat criticizing her image the plain Jane in the mirror began to...

The Moon for June came out too soon, why I cannot say, but it arrived one day, on the last of May, and said I am here to stay, so just keep on playing, because I am staying, no matter what you say. No you must wait, it’s not the right date, the Sun ordered him away… So, The man in the Moon asked for a spoon, because like a goon, the last star of May, wants him to play, a happy spoon tune, then stop very soon, on the dot of high noon, because lunch is on the way.  He’ll sit and stay to dine where he lay, without any pay, as he wanted to sleep, on the dune with the sheep, as they don’t make a peep, and never will weep, as the little ones leap, when they should be asleep, but still creep, up so high in the fresh air, with not even a care, with wool socks to wear, that will always be there, if they order another pair, but sure they must share, for even a bear, will not care, if they’re so rare, and try not to dare wear, an unmatched pair, when they must beware, as they shrink everywhere, if it’s a hot day and the date was late May, when the Moon begins to stray, it won’t feel brave this crazy way, so he’ll watch for the Sun, and began to run, when the light does come to see the new day,  Like a limp helium balloon the Moon will drop and lay, upon the soft hay, to rest from this last day.   Then the Sun takes a turn, and begins to not burn, as bright as high noon. It takes an hour to wait...

Can you imagine that the Mermaids can and so do live under the water all the time and I called them sneaky because when they are up in the air which they can also do, they sneak around so we won’t see them at play having fun and dancing on the waves.  They like to watch us at play, but don’t want us to see them. We would not even know about Mermaids if the few real people who have seen them, did not draw us a picture of what they look like.  They are so pretty that we want them to all come out and play with us. We don’t even know for sure if they are real or fictitious.  If you are out on a boat or playing on the shore and you see a Mermaid, please tell her we want to be friendly, so we’d love to have her come up and play with us. Who are all of those other fictitious characters who had so much fun? The Trolls love to have fun playing tricks on Real People and even each other .   They are full of mischief and merriment that is not funny to you if they play a trick on you.  Who else but a Troll would dash out in front of you if you have a nice new ice cream cone,  piled high with your favorite flavors and without you even seeing him, trip you and cause you to drop the top of your ice cream to the sidewalk?  Nobody but a Troll. Fairies are pretty little flying things that get their fun by doing good.   They like to leave little coins under your pillow when you lose a tooth, and help you blow out...

TOO MUCH OR NOT TOO MUCH… THAT IS THE QUESTION!

Those Little Girls have names that are consistent with the names of our four Grand-daughters, who have now grown-up to be wonderful adults. These little girls are much younger and have different parents, so in spite of the names, Ashley, Libby, Mackenna & Kelly (some of my favorite names), do not let them confuse you.  Thank you…  Gramma Bev. CHAPTERS: THE FIND TOO MANY BOXES THE STUDIO TOO MANY HELICOPTERS THE FIND It seemed to the parents of those girls that their children had involved them in almost everything, possible to raise money for their activities.   Lemonade stands from the kitchens to the front sidewalks and dozens of boxes of Cookies for the Girl Scouts. It was too bad that the cookies had dropped in sales.  People now declined to buy them, because they said they were on a diet and didn’t want cookies sitting in the house where they might be tempted to eat them.   In fact door to door selling was now even a failure as Avon Cosmetics eventually figured out, because fewer people answered the door anymore.  Housewives were out shopping and working women were… well, working.   The children’s own mothers had sternly warned them against the creepy people who opened the door wide with a smile and invited them in.   Church bake sales had ended by law as the sellers could not prove they had been baked in sanitary conditions.  Oh my, if it wasn’t one problem, it was another! What would they come up with next? Today the four young cousins sat on beach towels on the sand at the beach in front of their grandparent’s house, just talking. These four girls appreciated this rare occurrence as all of the other cousins were boys.  There...

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT… And Kelly was being made aware that it was.  He was trying to sleep in his own warm bed, in his own little room and sleep was being made impossible, as he could hear that outside in the fearful, darkness the wind blew so hard that it slammed against the window in his room and made it rattle.  Each sound set him to wondering what or who was trying to get into his house. He was frightened, so he hid under the bed covers, just in case it was one of those terrible night monsters that often scared him even when the wind was calm. If he got up the nerve to look out of the night dark window, he was sure he could see some things moving about in the shadows… monsters maybe. He had seen pictures of them in books and on television. Kelly felt safer under the blanket where they would not see him. Suddenly a loud bang of something hitting the wall made him peek out from under the quilt.  He saw nothing. But heard the bang again and again. “Don’t come in.”  he called out trying to sound braver than he felt.  “I’m trying to sleep in here.” In the twin bed across the room his sister, Rory, turned over without waking.  Poor girl, she didn’t understand what could be out there and slept without a care. His mother came in quietly and asked him in her soothing, night voice, so as not to waken Rory,  “Did you call me, Kelly?” “No I was telling those night monsters to stay out.  They knocked on my wall to come in.”  Mother gave a soft laugh. ”That wasn’t anything but the Peach tree branch...

A BRIGHT MOON LIT NIGHT Kelly left his bedroom very late one night to go out into his back yard to get a better look at that especially bright Moon.  He had not been out late at night since he made friends with the Shadow Boy last year in a story called “A Dark and Stormy Night.  That Shadow Boy had gone away with the rest of the shadows when the Moon was gone from sight to shine dimly during the day. “Yet he was sorry that the Shadow Boy never returned.  Kelly blamed it on his Dad’s newly installed yard lights, put up to make their patio more useful. That former darkness had once made it possible for him to see and learn about even more of the Stars and their Constellations, which Kelly found very interesting.  After the patio lights went up, his Father showed him how to find all of those things on his computer, so he had been studying the sky without leaving the house ever since.  It was warmer inside and he could even work in the day time after school. So he didn’t even complain about losing the Shadow friends. But tonight the Moon had called him out as it hung for a short while right in his window beckoning.  It was after midnight, so he put on a warm sweater against the chill.  Then he found the air to be strangely comfortable by the sheer brightness of this Moon and took off the sweater, throwing it on the back of a patio chair. As he sat on the comfortable chaise looking up at the clear sky, he wondered why the Moon had called him out. And what it wanted to tell him. He leaned back and waited...

Kelly had spent the whole morning, when he would have preferred to be off playing baseball with the guys, trailing around behind his mother as she gathered some odd things she seemed to think she needed.  He wasn’t particularly interested in her market basket of assorted things from this grocery store.  But he soon began to notice that they were not the regular, oh, milk and bread and veggies and stuff like that. There were several cartons of the same old eggs though, just lots more than usual.  That might mean she was going to do some baking.  Hmm, who’s birthday was coming up.  Not mine its months away.   Suddenly the cart got interesting.  Mother dropped in the king size bag of jelly beans and followed it with two boxes of chocolate covered, egg shaped,  peanut butter cups, and some food dye. Easter that’s it!  Now let me think. Just when is Easter?  That fun day with egg hunts and baskets filled with goodies doesn’t stand still in one spot like other holidays do.   Kelly began to look around the store and noticed shelves full of bunnies, stuffed fluffy rabbits, painted porcelain ones, balloons with Easter rabbits wearing happy smiles bouncing on sticks, above the expensive, fancy, boxed chocolate rabbits standing on a table all alone.  Yes he was right.  It was almost Easter! As soon as they got home he dashed into his bedroom and sat at his computer to Google up Easter and find out when it would be here. According to his first screen info, Easter was on the first Sunday, after the Paschal, pronounced Pas-kul, moon following the Vernal Equinox., sometime between April 4th, and May 8th and it repeats every 19 years!   With all of that...

Jake left his bedroom very late one night to go out into his back yard to get a better look at that especially bright Moon.  He had not been out late at night since he made friends with the Shadow Boy last year in a story called “A Dark and Stormy Night.  That Shadow Boy had gone away with the rest of the shadows when the Moon was gone from sight to shine dimly during the day. “Yet he was sorry that the Shadow Boy never returned.  Jake blamed it on his Dad’s newly installed yard lights, put up to make their patio more useful. That former darkness had once made it possible for him to see and learn about even more of the Stars and their Constellations, which Jake found very interesting.  After the patio lights went up, his Father showed him how to find all of those things on his computer, so he had been studying the sky without leaving the house ever since.  It was warmer inside and he could even work in the day time after school. So he didn’t even complain about losing the Shadow friends. But tonight the Moon had called him out as it hung for a short while right in his window beckoning.  It was after midnight, so he put on a warm sweater against the chill.  Then he found the air to be strangely comfortable by the sheer brightness of this Moon and took off the sweater, throwing it on the back of a patio chair. As he sat on the comfortable chaise looking up at the clear sky, he wondered why the Moon had called him out. And what it wanted to tell him. He leaned back and waited patiently for an answer.  The...

ESPECIALLY FOR BEVERLY NEMETH TO CELEBRATE HER 8TH BIRTHDAY To be the last of anything is likely to be the loneliest and the last tiny green elf living high on the hill top in Laguna was exactly that.  He lived among the grasses and wild flowers that grew on the rolling slopes overlooking that vast blue ocean called Pacific. There were sometimes bright orange California Poppies and sky blue Lupin on the hill top, but mostly tan and brown with wispy green for a few days after rain.   Like some lizards and chameleons this elf could change his color at will.  He learned the secret of that skill while swimming in the ocean one day and came upon a young octopus with his small, but very long, body draped across two flat under water rocks.  He noticed that the octopus was partly the color of one black volcanic rock, but changed right in the middle of three of his eight arms to the light sand color of the other rock.  The elf watched in amazement as the arms of what was very large to him, but still a small baby sea creature, smoothly blended to match whatever was under them. “How do you do that?”  The elf inquired.  “I’ve seen the chameleon change and wondered about them, too, but they won’t explain it to me.  I’ve asked and asked to no avail.” “Why do you need to know?”  Octopus asked, politely, as that is how the young learn about things.   “For the same reason as you always do it.  I would like to become nearly invisible.” “Well, I can tell you that this knowledge is important to me, as it often saves my life.”  The octopus answered.  “Big fish can’t try to eat...

OH NO! NOT ANOTHER MOVE The little boy named, Kelly Christiansen, was born in the hospital at the Air Force Base in the desert of California on September, 30, 2006.  He knew as soon as he could walk that the empty desert was very useful, for their daddy.  He was an Air Force Test Pilot, who flew mostly big C-130’s and that huge, dry, desert had miles and miles of room for Edwards, Air Force Base.  And even better, there was plenty of sky space for him, and the other pilots, to fly their different airplanes without worrying about towns under them.  Sometimes mom would point daddy out to him as his plane passed over their house. because she knew how to tell his plane from the others. It’s a fact that when your Daddy gets married while stationed at that large Air Force Base in Little Rock Arkansas and has a son born, while stationed at Edwards, in the middle of California, followed by a daughter, Lorelei Lally, born, June 1, 2010, half way around the world in England, close to the giant rocks of Stone Henge, you know for sure that you are going to have an interesting life, always moving from place to place. Still you cannot imagine how exciting it could then become when you leave England for Alabama, a United States southern state on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, only to almost lose your English accent and not quite acquire a southern accent to find that your daddy has been transferred to work in the great Pentagon Building in our country’s Capitol, Washington, District of Columbia.  And even more confusing, he and mom bought a house in another different state.  Virginia, Kelly was pretty sure he heard...

It really shouldn’t have happened at all! It’s just that some creatures seem bent on making mischief and causing trouble for themselves and all about them. The Ogres are just such creatures. And the intended victims of the Ogres pranks seemed to have been the people of the village of Rivertown. No one knows for sure why the Ogres decided to wreak such havoc on the Rivertown folks, who were very pleasant and friendly. Maybe, it was true that the Ogres wanted to chase the Rivertown folks away, so they could take over the lovely little village. It really was a lovely village, nestled in the cool green woods near the winding river. Yes, maybe the Ogres wanted the the area to themselves. Maybe. But the fact is, they suddenly began to act very mean. The river ran swiftly between the tall mountain cliffs, creating a small valley, almost isolated from the rest of the country-side. This was Rivertown. Although the people had nearly everything they could want, it was often necessary for them to go by wagon to the big city, far on the otherside of the river. So they built a sturdy bridge across the river and a road that connected to the city highway. Some of the people, who crossed the bridge, soon noticed that a Troll had taken up residence under the bridge. Toll the Troll was his name. He had built himself a rather cute little house, with a small door and a single window in the front. No one really minded that Toll the Troll had built his house there, until the bad things began to happen. First, Willie the woodcutter, taking a load of logs to the city, had his wagon upset, and lost his entire load in...

“Hot dogs, potato chips, punch and cake. Did I forget anything?” asked Grant, chewing on the end of his pencil thoughtfully. “That sounds great to me!” answered Robert, shifting around on the floor for a more comfortable position. “We haue been working on this party menu for an hour. Let’s not change it again.” He leaned over and looked at the page Grant had been working on. Popcorn was scratched out. “I do think we should have popcorn, though, that’s my favorite!” “O.K. Popcorn. Andrew likes it, too, and it is his birthday party. I sure hope you can keep a secret so we can surprise him.” “Me! You’re the one who told Dad about his surprise on Father’s Day!” “I only told him once! And Father’s Day was a long way off. I thought he would forget by then. Besides, he said he was surprised.” Grant argued. “Sure. Well keep Andrew’s party to yourself and let’s see if we can pull it off this time. Mom said it was all up to you and me and John. You can see how interested John is.” They both looked up from their floor work place, to John, who lay fast asleep on the bed.  Grant leaned against the bed and picked up the pad and pencil. “We’d better plan some games or something now that the menu is finished.” “You call that a menu?” said a voice. “I can’t believe you two! Planning a two elf party! “John?” said Robert softly. John was still asleep. Then he saw a little light on the pillow next to John’s face. The light hopped over to the foot of the bed next to Grant. And there stood a tiny elf. He had his hands on his hips...

In a cave beside the road there lived a fox family. Daddy fox went out hunting everyday to try to bring home enough food for his family of Mama fox and five little foxes. It was hard work. Sometimes they had enough to eat and sometimes they were very hungry.The baby foxes waited impatiently for Daddy fox to come home each night to see if there would be dinner to eat. If there was, everyone was contented and Daddy played with them after dinner and all were happy. If Daddy found no dinner, he came home late and was too tired to play and they were all hungry. One sunny day Little Peep, the chicken, was walking along the road, when something hit him on the head. He looked at the ground. There was a tiny pebble. He picked it up and ran until he came to the big hen, Dumb Cluck. “Look!” he cried out. “A pebble has fallen on my head. What can it mean?” Dumb Cluck looked at the pebble. “Oh dear,” she clucked this looks like a piece of the mountain! We must go and warn the others that the mountain is falling. Jerky Turkey will know what to do.” They ran to Jerky Turkey. “Little Peep has been hit on the head by a pebble! We think the mountain is falling. What shall we do?” Jerky Turkey looked at the pebble and gobbled. ” We must run and tell Dull Duck. They ran to Dull Duck and showed him the pebble. “The mountain is falling!” They all cried. “Hurry!” said Dull Duck. “We must hide in the cave, before the mountain falls!” And they all ran into the cave at once. Inside the cave sat the fox family. They were...

One cold winter, twin bears were born, deep in a warm cave. They stayed in the cave with their mother, as long as the snow was on the ground. On a lovely spring day she led them out into the world. The mother bear looked out across the lovely green pasture, wet with the morning dew. The twins sniffed the cool air and looked out toward the blue mountains. The world was a beautiful place, indeed. To the first born, and biggest and gruffest of the twins, she said. “I will name you Pasture after the spring green meadow.” Then to the smaller quieter bear, she said, “I will call you Dew, after the sparkling drops glistening on the pasture wild flowers.” Pass and Dewy. They nundged each other playfully. “Someday when you are big.” Their mother said, “You will own all of the lands you see, from here to the tall blue mountains. You will have to divide them one day, of course, and each rule an empire of your own. But for now you must stay by me, while I teach you about your lands. Today we will go down to the stream and I will teach you to fish,” And off they went, tripping over the rocks and sniffing at the flowers. Pass and Dewy were friends and played happily together, although they were very, very different. Pass would challenge every animal he met. He chased the birds and frightened the baby foxes and wolves every chance he got. “They must learn.” he said, “That I am the master of these lands.” Dew, on the other hand was good natured and loved to have the other animals about. He loved to listen to the birds sing. Sometimes they came right down...