Keep calm

Today was Karen's birthday. I got her this popup card. Now you know she likes paper pop-ups, wind-up toys, and finger puppets. She also likes Tom McKnight paintings and is an artist. 

When you have two frightened people in a room together it can get tense. We are both frightened of when I will have to go back into the world for work. I'm not going to ride the metro. I live on the opposite side of a major city from where I work and our area already had one of the worst traffic in the country. My car is 20+ years old. To handle the drive I've ordered a new car with every single safety feature. Picture a giant inflatable bubble with a person inside - that will be me. 

Now we are also both nervous about my learning how to drive the new car but I should get it before I have to go to work, so I should have plenty of time to practice before I go out on the beltway in rush hour traffic. 

So we had a tense day and Samuel no longer likes to walk in the woods near our house so I went for a walk without him. I heard a flute playing. (Doesn't that seem like an outstanding beginning for a story? You expect to hear about fairy encounters now, right? )

I got to see the deer again. They were intrigued and I enjoyed sitting in the woods and taking their pictures and watching. It was beautiful and calm and green and soothing. The light in the trees was gorgeous. 

On the way back I saw something climbing a tree. 

(oooh suspense)

We don't have monkeys here - that is where my mind first went.
Too large for a squirrel.
Could it be a cat?
No, not a cat.
Sloth? We don't have sloths here, and it is moving too quickly for a sloth. 
No, really, we don't have monkeys here. (I like monkeys.)
Oh my goodness, it is a raccoon. 

The raccoon was so high up the tree that it just stayed put and hoped I didn't see while I angled for a better shot. 

Keep calm and carry on.