Monday Morning Poetry

Sometimes I write poetry in the morning, while I sip my hot cocoa and wait for my porridge. Today I was thinking about the busy week ahead and wrote this little one. (It’s not complete yet…we’ll see where it leads)

“Stitches and Stuffing”

Stitches and stuffing
Feathers and fluffing,
All this complaining
Leads to nothing!

You’ve got to get up
Off your furry little butt,
Make something happen
When you feel really stuck.

Hop on your two feet
Don’t sit gathering dust
Time waits for no one,
In this you must trust.

Take those ideas
You learned in a book
Put them in action
Make them all cook.

(c) Mr. McCuddles 16/7/12 (July 16, 2012)

We’re working on some books while here in Clarence Center, NY.; some by me and Honey Bunny and some by Mary McAndrew, who will illustrate them.  Maybe we can get her to post some sketches?

Glossy Note Card with me and Old Blue Bear, one of my new best buddies!

You can order this as a birthday card or remove the words, or put something else!

“Adventure in Happy Valley meeting the Pixies”

Today Teena and I went on an adventure in what’s called “Happy Valley in Northumberland England.

Before the long hike

We took a break here on this fence post to plan our hike.

Ted and Teena find a parasol

We found this really tall mushroom that was great to stand under to get out of the sun. We were careful as always not to touch it in case it was poisonous!

We met some pixies sitting at a mushroom table

We came upon two little pixies at the edge of the woods who were sitting at a huge mushroom table. They invited us to sit down with them; they were really friendly. They had a bit of wool fluff from the sheep in the field on the mushroom.

The pixie had a magic wand

The pink pixie had a magic wand that looked to us like an ordinary dandelion stem.

The pink pixie turned the wool into a flower

Well it was after she waved it and the wool turned into a pretty flower that we believed she did have magic powers. The flower was for us to eat like a yummy salad.

Ted makes everyone laugh

I found a peice of wool laying nearby and put it on my head to make everyone laugh, I wanted it to look like hair.

Teena and the pink pixie became friends

Teena and the pink pixie became friends and talked about what things they both liked. They decided they would try to get together to play sometimes.

On the way home

We were both tired out after all that excitement and walking, but our artist friend Mary McAndrew gave us a lift home in her field bag of sketching supplies.

This is your friendly little bear in the field, Tedd Teeny.

“Fabulous Fungal Jungle Foray”

Today Tedd and I went out into the great huge area called “The Lawn”. We are in England and found that the lawns here are just like the ones at home, if they don’t get cut they become like a jungle! It had long green blades of grass and clover leaves and other plants so huge to us, they loomed over our heads.

Ted finds a Shaggy Ink Cap Mushroom

Tedd came upon this really exciting find, two Shaggy Ink Cap Mushrooms standing tall in the jungle of grass. We studied them carefully but didn’t touch, as you never know if they may be poisonous. We did some sketches then looked them up in a field guide when we got home.

Teena comes to see the mushroom

We told our artist friend Mary McAndrew about them and she decided to do a little watercolor sketch of them, check it out on her blog here.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the huge mushroom discovery with us!

from your reporter in the field, Teena Teeny.

“Ted and Teena Go to a Country Fair” (Glendale Show)

Ted doesn't see Teena there

Well I (Ted) have made it to England and what to you think my first big surprise was? My sister Teena stowed away in the artist’s field bag! “Hi Ted!” she waved down at me and I was so surprised.

Ted wants to drive

The first thing we do is plan an outing to a real country fair in the countryside. I want to drive but as Teena points out, I’m really too short to reach the steering wheel, and my paws won’t reach the pedals on the floor. I guess she’s right so I’ll go and sit with her.

Looking out the window

We sit and watch the scenery as it whizzes by…zoom, so fast.  In England people drive their cars on the left side of the road and the drivers seat is on the right side of the car. How do they drive in your country?

Cows

We saw cows on the green grassy hills and agree we like looking at all the different colors and patterns of cows; some looked like they were spattered with paint.

Ted + Teena ride together

When we reached the fair, we decided to ride together in one little pouch in our artist friend’s field sketching kit.

A roan horse rides around the ring

When we’re there, we see all kinds of animals, but Teena’s favorites are the horses. Lots of kids are showing their horses in the ring.

Over the jump!

“Wow, there’s a beautiful white pony with a very long mane and tail” says Teena. It was exciting to see the horses and riders go over the jumps and try not to knock the poles down.

All in a row

Then the horses line up in a row to wait for the judges to look at them. Their riders have to get them to stand nice and still; look at how different their tails look.

Looks like our your girlfriend Ted

“Oh there are so many dogs here!” I said, “almost everyone has a dog with them”. Teena teases me and says, “It looks like your girlfriend Ted!” haha!

A spotted pony

Oh look at that, a spotted pony! He’s wearing a special halter on his face so he can pull a cart. There are patches behind his eyes so he won’t see the cart behind him and get scared of it. Teena says she wishes I would wear them sometimes so she could sneak up on me for tickles!

Wow, she won a blue ribbon

Here’s a picture of a girl that won a blue ribbon with her horse, they look great together. It takes a team of horse and rider to win a blue ribbon, they work together. She looks really happy.

Jacobs sheep

Then Teena and I walked around and we saw all kinds of sheep. These are Jacob’s sheep with pretty black and white faces, horns and brown spots. I like the sheep and alpacas best.

I think he wants to eat us!

Oh my! We walked into a tent and there was a display from a bird of prey centre, we saw this Barn Owl but I think he wanted to eat us. We quickly hid in our artist friends bag.

Talking by the window

We were so tired on the drive home, but we sat next to each other and talked all about it. I can’t wait for our next adventure here in England!

“Mr. McCuddles get’s packed”

Today I got ready for my big trip.

Ouch! oh it fell shut on my paw

I helped Miss Mary to pack her suitcase and oops, it fell shut on my little furry paw. It was ok though.

I've picked my special ribbons

I picked out my special ribbons to wear, I even picked a pretty pinkish metallic one for Honey Bunny. She’s my sweetie living way over in England. I hope she likes the ribbons I am bringing her.

Mr. McC checks out the backpack

Well this it my transportation for the next 24 hours, I hope it’s comfortable.  Miss Mary is going to carry her notebook and sketchbook in here too, so I feel pretty special as I know how important they are to her.

Oops! Trying to get in

Oh, umph…gggrrrrr……mmphh…well I guess I’ll need some help getting in!

Peeking out

This will be so much fun! I hope I get a window seat so I can look out at the puffy clouds and green landscapes.

Oh! Can I ride like this all the way?

Um, well it’s a bit tight around my neck!

“Mr. Tedd Teeny says goodbye”

Today little Tedd Teeny is saying goodbye to his twin sister Teena.

Tedd says goodbye

He’s been planning on going to England with Mr. McCuddles for a long time, but she is still feeling left out. He pats her on the shoulder and promises to bring her something nice back. Maybe honey made by Scottish bees?

Tedd looks down at Teena

He climbs himself secretly up into Miss Mary’s backpack, you see it’s ‘her’ that’s taking the trip and she doesn’t know that they are ‘hitching’ a ride! Tedd feels like he’ll get away with it no problem because he’s so little.

Poor Teena

Even though Teena is sad and pouting that she can’t go, she’s a good sister and promises not to tattle on him to Miss Mary. Miss Mary is the artist who likes to paint them and their friends, and write stories about them.

Tedd looks down

“Oh Tedd! Be careful!” shouts Teena in her tiny voice…”you may fall”. He looks down at her and waves, then pretends he’s lost his balance and she screams, “Oh watch out!”  He laughs and it makes her mad that he teases her so badly.

Keep visiting us here to find out what happens next to Tedd and Teena.

“Saying good-bye to Blue Bear”

Mr. McCuddles with pal Blue Bear

Soon I’ll be leaving for England so I’ve started to say good-bye to my friends. This is Blue Bear, he’s a lot older than me, about 20 years! He was handmade by my artist friend for her family so they really like him a lot. I like him though he can be a bit bossy at times because he knows so much.

“A Visit to Grampa’s House” 7-27-09

Mr. McCuddles sketch on the porch 7-27-09

I took a short trip down to Endicott, NY to visit my Grampa’s house. My Artist friend drew my portrait while I got some suntime on the back porch…ah this is the life.