It was this time last year when our Beagle family suffered it’s first loss; it’s perhaps because of that we’ve felt a strong need to embrace the forward-looking impetus of the New Year. I’ve started work on a full rebuild of our deck, Susan has already started germinating seeds indoors with plans for creating new beds for growing veg and flowers, and we’ve got some lovely bareroot trees waiting to be planted. Although it’s cold and the weather is still serving up some grey days, the overall feeling is that we should have a bright year ahead.
In the midst of all this work, Monkey and Daisy have somehow tied us into daily storytelling sessions. After Monkey’s had his breakfast, he just can’t settle until Susan has tickled his tummy and told him a little story. Sometimes the story is drawn from Beanie & Biggles’ adventures, sometimes it’s about all of Monkey’s fun times with Poppy, and when it’s story time he jumps onto the bed and rolls over onto his back ready to be indulged. If the story is too short or the tummy tickle not quite satisfying enough, he’ll chase after Susan and be a pest until he’s had a supplementary serving.
Daisy also appreciates the morning story, but she often has her own dedicated story session on my lap in the evening. This particular habit started as a means of calming her down when she gets overexcited but has only recently emerged from a crate nap. I scoop her up, sit her on my lap, give her kisses and cuddles and tell her about the adventures of Monastery Daisy, or Buddhist Monk Daisy, or Golden Age Philosopher Daisy. Use of the word “adventure” here isn’t really appropriate, because the story I tell always focuses on how fictional Daisy stays calm and quiet in the face of stimulation, and never feels the urge to bite her brother’s balls, or pull his tail, or hump him vigorously, or go round sticking her snout into unattended coffee cups. Yes, protagonist Daisy is usually the contemplative polar opposite of the Crazy Daisy that sits squirming and grizzling on my lap. If I tell the story right, real-life Daisy relaxes into my arms, happily receiving a tummy tickle and surrendering to the urge to close her eyes.
Lets face it, Monkey and Daisy have done such a good job of training us that Poppy, Biggles and even Beanie would be thoroughly proud of them.
