
Would this make you smile?
“Some little thing in my brain stretched, and twisted, and turned until I was pulling all kinds of things from the dark corners of my studio, and this was the result.” Karen (of Stone Soup- KarenSameNow)
(Mindo Ecuador) One can allow unexpected challenges to ruin one’s day (or night) or one can try to find the humor in frustrating moments. With Barbara around, it’s easy to burst out laughing instead of wanting to shout with frustration! My friend Peter (bird guide and electrician) saw my hand-scrawled note and burst out laughing!

“Does she really expect me to move when there’s delicious grass on the property?”
Yes, my brain stretched and twisted and decided that a quickly-drawn illustration might best describe the cattle’s destructive tour of the gardens and trails! The note needed few words to deliver the message to the owner of the cows.
Every time we tried to herd the cows back to the gate, where they’d found a weak part in the barbed-wire fence, they bolted to deeper and difficult-areas to reach in the old pasture areas. At night they tipped back to the yard in order to raid the hibiscus, the orchids and the impatiens.

The Scout
At one in the morning, we were sitting in the truck waiting to ambush them if they returned, as they had sent a scout to see if we were sleeping. Half an hour earlier, I peered out the bedroom window to see a peeping-cow staring back at me!
They finally gave up, but at 7 in the morning they were back. We herded them toward the gate, where I had taped a note to the owner of the cattle. One cow inspected the note and sampled it – YOW! STOP THAT, SILLY COW! Continue reading