Animals know best…
My grandmother always told me to watch the animals. “They always know when something is
about to happen,” she said. “And if you’re smart enough to listen, then you’ll know too.”
I remember her repeating that advice on several occasions when I stayed with her each summer.
Those weeks were my heaven on earth because in “Mammaw’s” eyes, I could do no wrong.
It was during one of those wonderful visits that Mother Nature decided to convince me that
Mammaw knew what she was talking about.
On that particular day of my lesson on how I should listen to my elders, I was deep in the woods
behind Mammaw’s house. My favorite pastime was pretending to be a treasure hunter exploring
undiscovered land.
Before I’d left the breakfast table that morning, Mammaw had said, “Don’t go far from the house
today. It’s gonna storm.”
While shoving the rest of my biscuit into my mouth, I glanced through the lace curtains of the
kitchen window. Clear blue sky and bright summer sun beckoned beyond the glass. “Why do
you think that?” I asked. “There aren’t any clouds.”
Mammaw pulled the curtains farther apart so I could see the henhouse and the chicken yard
higher up in the field. “Do you see any chickens this morning?” Mammaw nodded as she tied the
curtains back with a bit of faded ribbon. “They know a bad storm’s coming so they’re staying in
the coop where it’s safe.”
The small yard inside the rusted wire fence was completely deserted. Not a single plump white
hen was out scratching in the dirt or pecking at the vegetable scraps scattered inside the fence.
I was still skeptical. Pappaw had told me how stupid Mammaw’s chickens were but I wasn’t
about to get into the middle of that household feud.
So I agreed with her and promised to stay close as I let the back screen door slam shut behind
me. By the time I was knee deep in the creek a good ways from the house, both the chickens’ and
Mammaw’s storm warning were completely forgotten.
Well…the warnings were forgotten until growling thunder rumbled through the woods and the
metallic smell of rain filled the rising wind shushing through the trees.
By the time I’d wrapped all my creek rock treasures up in my shirttail, the grumbling thunder
had grown to ear-splitting clashes and the wind whipped at the trees until the dark green leaves
flashed silver in the downpour.
I slithered my way up the muddy creek bank and darted between the swaying trees. I hit the field
between the woods and the house at a dead run, dropping down into the waist high grasses every
time the lightning crackled across the clouds and the thunder drowned my screams.
By the time I splashed my way into the screened-in back porch and stood shivering in the center
of a growing puddle; Mammaw didn’t even look up from the pot she was stirring on the stove.
She just shook her head and said, “Someday you’ll learn to listen.”
So never forget. Animals always know.
Maeve Greyson:
No one has the power to shatter your dreams –unless you give it to them. That’s Maeve
Greyson’s mantra whenever her carefully laid out plans decide to take a detour. When she’s
home from the day job at the steel mill, Maeve writes fantasy and paranormal romances flavored
with a Celtic twist. Tucked away in a five acre wood just this side of Kentucky Lake, Maeve
listens to the wind singing in the trees and hears characters telling their stories. Her work is
proofed by her sharp-eyed dog, Jasper and her promotional manager is her long-suffering
husband of over thirty years who learned a long time ago not to throw away any sticky notes
filled with bits of conversation.
Find Maeve at these places on the web:
Website: http://www.maevegreyson.com/
Blog: http://maevegreyson.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/maeve.greyson
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/maevegreyson
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Maeve-Greyson/e/B004PE9T9U/
ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Hello Everyone! We have a total of 59 blogs that have gotten together to help raise money for a great cause. There are going to be some awesome prizes up for grabs for people that donate money to the cause. Here is a little about the company that we are raising the money for:
Paws With A Cause® enhances the independence and quality of life for people with disabilities nationally through custom-trained Assistance Dogs.
PAWS® increases awareness of the rights and roles of Assistance Dog teams through education and advocacy. Founded in 1979, Paws With A Cause is dedicated to helping its clients who are challenged by many disabilities, such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorders, and Hearing Disorders to name just some. Each of our dogs are trained to meet the specific needs of our clients. Tasks may include opening and closing doors, picking up objects, pulling a wheelchair, turning lights on and off, and alerting a person to particular sounds like a telephone, doorbell, smoke detector and many others. Our dogs change lives by enhancing the independence of our clients. By just opening a door, a dog opens up the world for a person with a disability and your donations will go to making that happen. PAWS thanks you so much for your donation and allowing us to open more doors.
Paws With A Cause
4646 South Division
Wayland, MI 49348
How to donate:
1. Go to https://www.everribbon.com/PawswithaCause
2. Click on "Make a Donation"
3. Enter a amount you wish to donate. Everibbon will add a small fee to your donation for processing. My fee for donating $5.00 was .49 cents. So keep this in mind when deciding your donation amount. You will receive 1 entry into the giveaway for every $1 you donate.
4. In the box that says "on the behalf of" please put your name. This is the name that will be listed on the everibbon website so put a name you do not mind being visible to everyone. Do not check the box to make a anonymous donation because I will not be able to track your donation to enter you into the giveaways.
5. Next it will ask you for your credit or debit card information.
6. Then it will ask for your email address to send you a receipt. This is so that you can submit it for tax purposes.
7. Ta Da! Your all done making your donation. Now you need to contact Danielle to enter the giveaway.
8. Please email Danielle at RomanceBookJunkiesDanielle@Yahoo.com with the name you used to donate your money. For example the name I used to donate on behalf of was Romance Book Junkies. Do not send me your name off your credit or debit card because I will not be able to see this. Along with the name you used please tell me how much you donated and if you live in the US or are International.
9. Your all done. Thank you for donating!
Warning: Do not try to email Danielle the name and donation amount of another person that is not yourself. If Danielle recieves more than one email with the same persons name and donation amount she will have to ask for your copy of the receipt from everibbon to verify that you are the correct winner. Thank you.
We will have 3 winners for the main giveaway.
We have 2 $65 gift certificates to any online book store.
Also we have a huge box of books and swag from Romance Book Junkies for US residents only.
Good luck to all and thank you for helping make this fundraiser a success.
