Susan's Blog

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Report From the Fields

Ned believes that most people are like one animal or another. This is kind of a game we play, where we meet someone and I say, “So, what’s his animal?” And Ned will think about it, and tell me, and why, and it is always right. He thinks of himself as like a lion, because he’s tawny, he has a large head with a mane (golden beard), he loves meat, he loves to sleep in the sun, he is extremely self-confident (and right to be so) and has an incredibly powerful temper when angered. We don’t often tell other people what their animal is, because it often disappoints them. Many people think they are cats, but they are not. I had a friend who was flighty, skinny, beak-nosed, and timid, and she insisted she was a big fluffy cat. She might feel like a big fluffy cat, or want to be one, but she was definitely a bird. Some people we know are dogs, big and friendly, eager to please. Some are raccoons, pointy-nosed and overly concerned about washing. Some (my sister, for example) are monkeys, chattering a lot and jumping around, making mischief. Some are braying donkeys, long-jawed and given to making long, boring speeches. Nat is a wild pony (dances away from people, comes close every now and then for a sugar cube, has a long face), Max is a big, lumbering mostly gentle bear (can be frightening when mad, mostly cuddly, very strong), and Benj is a goat (Aries, used to eat anything that wasn’t food, is stubborn, little, and can fight you). You can see why it is often difficult to tell people what their animal is.

He thinks of me as a rabbit, because I get afraid of things, I retreat into my warren, particularly when the world gets to me, I am soft-hearted and fluffy, (and, he tells me, soft to the touch), and I am very attuned to changes in people’s moods (sniff the air for the changes) and changes in the environment. I am really plugged into the natural world. At this time of year, I stare out of different windows and study the ground and the trees daily for new signs of spring, and tell him about them (he, of course, has never noticed them, because he’s busy prowling the veldt). He calls this, “the report from the fields.”

Today’s report from the fields: I’m a little shaky from too much caffeine and not enough sleep (and my rabbit’s tender equilibrium), but happy. I noticed bright green buds on my apple tree. The neighbors’ white magnolia is about to bloom. A trilling bird call woke me up at 5 (must be someone I know!)

4 comments

That sounds like a fun game. Can you get Ned to tell me what I am? I’m thinking Walrus.

— added by Pete Lyons on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 7:58 am

You are the Walrus, Goo-goo-ga-joob

— added by Susan Senator on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 11:26 am

I thought I was the only one who did this – how wonderful to have company!

Patricia

(mother of a kitten and a puppy, wife of a falcon, bearer of great affection for a bear, a bunny, and an owl 🙂

— added by Patricia on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 10:42 pm

What an interesting game, Susan!
I will think about which animal I am ….. and so my husband, my daughter and son.

I am here through Nancy Bea Miller and I like so much your issues and very well written text. I will come back soon. I am a Brazilian journalist. I would like your visiting on my blog.

— added by sonia a. mascaro on Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 12:35 pm

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