I’m sitting at the zoo, waiting for my daughter’s volunteer shift to be over. I brought my laptop along, expecting to get all kinds of writing done. I did not. At least, not as much as I’d hoped. But that’s okay. I did some brainstorming, which was the objective for today in the Fun Size Challenge.
What did I do instead of writing? Well, I wandered the zoo mostly. I never get to go by myself anymore, and this was an opportunity to watch the animals I wanted to watch for as long as I wanted. I also just plain walked (got in my 30 minutes of exercise!).
I even talked to strangers! Somehow, at least at the zoo, that’s easier than talking to people I know. After all, there’s a built in conversation starter staring right at you! I told a family about the baby gibbon that you could just barely see a zookeeper holding behind the exhibit (it’s mom didn’t take to mothering, so the zookeepers are taking care of it as close to the mom as possible in hopes of getting her interested). I talked to a man about the twin Emperor Tamarins. I talked to a young Zoo Crew member that I could see was extremely nervous on her first day of volunteering and introduced myself as the mom of one of her fellow crew members.
Of course, I also got to see a ton of animals. Not all of them were official residents of the zoo. This little guy decided that if I was sitting at a picnic table, I must have food and want to share. He was disappointed that I did not. And when I packed up and started to walk away, he followed me until he stumbled upon a few chips that had been left behind by other guests.
A few days ago while on my daily walk, I started getting an idea for a world I’d like to create for a story. I don’t have the whole thing planned out yet, but I have the start of a main character and I feel like there have been little guest characters that are making themselves known to me as I live my life.
Sunday I was standing in the atrium at church, looking towards the wall of windows that looks out onto the courtyard. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and thought “Oh, look. A cat… Wait, that’s not a cat. That’s a bobcat!”
Tuesday I walked with a friend at a park and there were TONS of itty bitty baby frogs hopping everywhere. I was afraid I would step on them! (no pictures)
Wednesday morning while waiting for the bus with my kids, we watched a cat carry a baby bunny across the street, then proceed to let it go and chase it multiple times. The poor bunny had no idea the cat was just playing. Unless those were screams of joy, which I highly doubt. (no pictures)
Wednesday night I was waiting outside for my kids to finish Small Group at church and I happened to find an injured hummingbird. We brought it home and did what we could to help it until the next morning when I drove 35 miles south to a bird rescue center where he (hopefully) will have a better chance.
Then there was the squirrel from today. I’m feeling a cast of animal characters introducing themselves to meals week and now I just have to find the story that binds them all together.
I started the first day of the Fun Size Challenge, which is actually focused on writing a short story. In the process of thinking about this character and what she wants, I believe it will be much more than a short story, so I’m going to keep jotting down ideas for it, but I will be going a completely different direction for this challenge. I want to give my animal friends a much richer world than can be created in a short story. But I am finding it fun to work on more than one thing at a time!
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