The Cats .... Continued

A Towering Form

Shadow remarked, “Great planning for the community would take place here with the council. It held their reference works, and artifacts.”

“On these shelves could be found volumes of ancient wisdom from the elders and generations long past. The shelves also contained articles used by the ancients, such as handcrafted bowls and spoons and cups and garments to fit their large forms; and many rocks of different colors, shapes and powers were placed there for safekeeping. There are stories of the relative of the great Mammoth that once roamed here,” Shadow finished proudly.

It was apparent by the fossil impressions left in the sandstone cliffs that a great, large animal form was once here. Some of the community structures with large rock-lined lower levels were constructed on such sites.

Shadow emphasized, “The Keanutes towered over most other forms of life of their day, except for the Wooly beast. The Wooly beast was nearly the size of its cousin the great Mammoth. Its coat was one of the finest strains of wool to be found on any continent. These large beasts roamed freely and befriended the Keanutes. In many ways they helped the Keanutes to become the strong society that they were. On display, as well was the wool that was trimmed from their coats once a year. Dyed in a splendor of colors of blues and purples, gold and yellows and reds. Some strands of wool were kept in their natural color of ivory white, and spun and woven, along with the other colors, into beautiful garments, wall tapestries, and bed coverlets, all of a gorgeous texture”.
more to come

The Cats ... Continued

Meeting The Ponies

The Keanutes, a strikingly handsome people with alert features were meticulously groomed. The Keanutes once could be found in other regions of the Rockies, far to the North and to the South, however this particular location was their greatest stronghold and community.” Shadow's telling of this story made it evident he knew his family’s history and the past days of the Keanutes quite well.

“Let’s walk to explore other of the many mountain valleys,” Shadow encouraged. We were at the South Bay end of the lake after leaving the mountainside to the East. This was a gently sloped region of water marsh and grass. As we rounded the Bay we headed northwest to the first cove. The mountainside rose to protect this cove from view. As we continued upward, I commented on Shadow’s agility, “It is a delight to behold. I’m doing my very best to keep up with you.” We had a fun time of follow the leader.

We climbed to meet with the old cart path that rounded the mountain to the inner slope of the cove. At this distance the water appeared azure blue and crystal clear. The spring runoff had just started and the lake was still two feet below its peak level.

I saw the cart path that crisscrossed the opposite mountainside, and wondered how long since it had been used. Shadow told me he was two years old and had not met the Keanutes himself. The mountainsides were green with grass and we could hear a meadowlark singing his trill atop an old fence post. Sunset was just peaking in the West and I told Shadow, “I must head back toward home at the South Bay. What direction do you live?” He followed in the same direction as I, “Not far from you my friend,” his sparkling dark silver-gray eyes acknowledged.
When we reached the foot of the mountain and rounded the curve we stopped at the roadway that led back to the cabin where I lived. “I’ll watch for you tomorrow, sleep snug,” was his goodbye.

It was so delightful having a new friend, and made the worries of being at home less frightful and the nightmares not so large.

The next day Shadow was watching for me, “I packed us a lunch so that we might travel farther and have a longer day of it.” Shadow never seemed to tire. We started out on the path as yesterday, and continued down the mountainside to the water's edge. We saw small fishes swimming up to the bubbles formed in the water from a small underground stream. “I wish we could swim with them, it would be fun.” But this time of year the water was too cold. They were having a time of it chasing the bubbles.

We followed the shoreline a ways and then turned to follow a path around the mountain into a large meadow. We saw cows grazing and two beautiful mares with their colts. The young ones were happy to be in the meadow on such a lovely spring day with the full sun upon them. They asked their moms, “Can we go and play with the two visitors?” Their coats were gleaming and they were smiling. As they neared they whinnied their greeting.
Shadow graciously introduced us and we could tell this would add to our wonderful day of adventure. Scout and Sosh had newly arrived, and said, “this is our first day in the meadow with our mothers.” Scout motioned to Shadow to hop-up for a comforting ride. We traveled through the meadow with Scout in the lead and with Shadow’s help as guide."
more to come soon

The Cats ... Continued

A Day Of Adventure

I said to little Sosh, “I’ll follow by your side.” They were amazed at the enormity of the moose meadow with the small stream meandering through it first here and then there. “We don't want to get too far out of site,” the ponies said, in unison. We were delighted to be in their presence.

As we headed North the Red Sandstone Cliffs rose layer by layer out of the mountainside, pushed up millions of years ago from beneath the surface of the earth.
We thought it would be an adventure to see the formations up close and search for fossils.
As we gradually climbed walking upon a layer of sandstone cliff, a deep narrow ravine appeared. As we neared we saw three great crevasses in the earth. “Gosh, the slashes drop four or five feet. Look, there’s another set just beyond that ridge.” Sure enough another set of deep claw marks in the earth. “Each set of depressions in the rock are at least three feet in length, and each set has a great talon slash at the end of that triangular shape in the center,” Shadow saw this well from above on Scout’s back. We walked on the ridge of ground left between the great imprints. “This is fascinating, what a find!” Scout said.

We stepped down into the fossilized print at the most shallow point of the single talon and walked towards the point of the long outstretched appendage. We were in awe of the varying densities of rock layers that were exposed in the depression.

"I hope you have
enjoyed this preview of The Cats Who've Come To Stay.

It is now published in its entirety, full with character color, available at http://www.amazon.com/"

Best Journeys Robyn