Puff




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" February 26, 2004 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart." You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription or a friend generously forwarded their copy to you. ------------------------------------------------------------ Pamela had been warned that “her kind” were nothing but trouble. Thank goodness she ignored well-meaning people. I can’t wait to hear the next chapter in this love story! ------------------------------------------------------------ All new subscribers will receive a free downloadable copy of the e-cookbook, “Write 2 the Heart of the Chocolate Lover.” To subscribe send a blank e-mail to: subscribe@write2theheart.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Puff in Love By Pamela Jenkins ------------------------------------------------------------ She is overweight with wrinkled skin, beady eyes, and big feet. She talks too loud and is prone to fits of pouting. She gobbles her food with gusto and makes quite a mess. But as the saying goes, she has a brilliant personality and we love her. Her name is Puff. We brought her home when she was only a few days old. My friends told me, "Pam, you don't want a turkey on your farm. Gobblers are mean and nothing but trouble." Puff has proven to be very gentle, though, and a great companion when I'd outside doing my yard work. She just wants to be close to people and enjoys spending quality time with her family. Our poultry flock is a free-roaming group, not confined to their small pen around the chicken coop but allowed to wander where they will. This makes egg gathering a bit like a yearlong Easter egg hunt. Puff's eggs are easy to distinguish from the laying hens. They are larger and speckled, and a special bonus, they are double- yolked. Free-roaming also means when Puff comes close to the house, peeking in doors looking for us, she occasionally leaves turkey- sized deposits where we're most apt to step. We've become accustomed to walking through the yard with our heads down, picking our way by the neatest paths we can find. I believe it's a small price to pay for the companionship of an animal that is so happy to see us when we walk out the door. One day while sitting by the open window in our living room, I heard a funny noise outside. It sounded like gurgling and pipping. I pulled back the curtains and peered out, then started to laugh. Puff had wandered past our new pickup and caught a glimpse of herself in the shiny chrome bumper. What was this? A new bird on the place? She made chortling sounds as she edged nearer, looking first from one small eye, then turning her head and looking at it from another view. She was clearly perplexed at her own image. Soon she had a pretty display of bronze feathers puffed out as she strolled back and forth, making soft sounds in her throat. "I think Puff's in love," I told my husband. "She hasn't left that bumper all afternoon." It was only when the sun began to set and darkness fell that she abandoned her preening and followed the rest of the chickens to the roost. The next morning, she was back at her post. I think it may have upset her when I drove the pickup to work, taking her newfound friend along with me. She gave a sad, longing look as I left, stretching her head high in the air and watching the pickup until it was out of sight. Without a spoken word, Puff had made her wishes known. It didn't take long for me to call the hatchery and check the price of baby turkeys. This spring should find our farm flourishing with a new flock of bronze beauties. I can hardly wait for the hatching date to come. I know I'll be happy to have a yard full of gobblers, and I'm sure Puff will be, too! by Pamela Jenkins bunnies-n-birds @ juno.com You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- Pamela Jenkins lives on a farm in Oklahoma with her husband of twenty-three years and their four children. She is the office manager of a veterinary clinic and enjoys writing in her spare time. She is a co-author of Chocolate for a Woman's Dreams and Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, as well as writing for Country Magazine. You can see a picture of Pamela and read more about her on our Writer Profiles page at: http://www.write2theheart.com/html/writer_profiles.html -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- Military Prayer Reminder -------------------------------------------------------------- As you read over this list of names, please take that moment to pray for these young people and their families: Chris Speir Tim Speir Alan Thaddeaus Howard Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ken Prieur Ryan Jonathan P. Wells Larry Miele Daniel Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being called to go overseas, send their names (first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder. --------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl's Corner I had spent months turning an unused bedroom into my office. I moved all of my computer equipment, desk, filing cabinets and any thing else I could think of that I might need into this bedroom. I began collecting hummingbird pictures when I went to garage sales to decorate with. I had such a warm and cozy room. Note I said had. Now, every time someone comes over and spends the night, that is the room of choice. Lately we have had our sons and their friends sleeping over due to job hours and night classes. They wouldn’t get in until the early hours of the morning and sleep late. I couldn’t get to my computer. This explains the erratic pattern of Write 2 the Heart of late. I am once again moving my computer to the boys old bedroom. I will use a space theme using my Star Wars collectables and stenciling “Reach For The Stars” on the window valances. If this doesn’t help, then I will just have to put a computer in every room! The older I get, the more I become like my mother; she was always moving and rearranging the house. Once I went to her house and she was busy moving her kitchen from the back of the house to the front of her house. God Bless, Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors.