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Mystery in Anipal Land, Part 5

5/30/2015

The coyotes snarled as they crawled out of the woods.

“I hear chicken!”

“I smell chicken!”

“Get in my belly!”

Zack rushed forward, donning a white coat and a stethoscope. “It appears you need a doctor, gentlemen.”

The coyotes stopped, staring down at Zack. “Who are you?”

“Doctor Zacchaeus to the rescue. You can call me Zack. What’s this about hearing chickens?” Zack pulled a plastic thermometer from under his wing and jammed it in the lead coyote’s mouth.

“What is this nonsense?” another coyote asked.

“You heard the good man,” Jinx said, rushing beside Zack in his own white coat. “Oh goodness, you’re right. It’s not good at all, Dr. Zack. Look, their eyes are yellow!”

“And they’re feverish as well,” Zack said, pulling the thermometer from the coyote and shaking off drool before tossing it aside.

“What do you think it is?” Jinx asked, squeezing a plastic blood pressure cuff around another coyote and squeezing the bulb until the coyote’s eyes bulged.

“Hmm,” Zack said, shining a light in their eyes and pressing the fake stethoscope against their chest. “Elevated heart rate, yellow eyes, smelling poultry. I’d say it’s this terrible case of chicken fever going around. What say you, Dr. Jinx?”

“I quite agree,” Jinx said, pulling off the blood pressure cuff and tossing it aside. “I believe isolation, rest, and a solid diet of veggies for at least a week should do the trick.”

“Veggies!” the lead coyote said, jerking the stethoscope away from Zack and tossing it aside. “I am the mightly Wiley Coyote, and I am not ill. What say that instead of veggies, we put parrot on the menu.”

Zack and Jinx stared at Wiley. “Sir,” Jinx said. “Do we look like birds to you?”

“Oh goodness, this one has a severe case,” Zack said. “We might need to operate.”

“Ready, sir!” Kermit said, rushing forward with a plastic knife.

Wiley swiped the knife aside and growled, blowing back feathers.

“Say hello to my little friend!” Jinx said, pulling a bubble gun out of his coat and shooting a streak of wild bubbles Wiley’s eyes.

“Attack!” Zack shouted, pulling a bubble gun from underneath his own coat and shooting into the pack of coyotes.

Penne and Coco flew overhead, dropping beach balls on the coyotes. The coyotes scrambled, batting away the balls.

“They’re scrambling!” Jeff Musk said, peering through his new binoculars. “Activate rooftop artillery!”

“Release!” Georgie Boy shouted from the roof of the castle, where the ‘keet commandos set up archers. Nerf arrows rained on the coyotes as Jeff Musk and Ninja Harine advanced the turtle and lizard army, pushing the catapult carts they took from the chickens after the girls drew them into their ‘tea party’ and cleared the eggs to load the catapults with more efficient ammunition.

“Release catapult!” Ninja Harine shouted. Bouncy balls flew from the catapults, causing the coyotes to further scramble as they batted away the sponge darts and balls bounding wildly around them. Jeff Musk and Ninja Harine rushed in and out of coyote arms and legs with the reptile squadron, releasing cans of whoop up that sent confetti flying. Coco and Penne circled back around, dropping more cans of whoop up into the canine confusion.

“Final systems set up,” Charlie commanded. “Friendly forces, withdraw!” Charlie and the rest of the anipal army pushed controls on remote controlled cars and trucks expertly rigged with large spools that zoomed around the coyotes, wrapping them in bright yellow yarn. The coyotes yelped and howled, still batting at bubbles, darts, beach balls, and bouncy balls as the yarn weaved around their arms and legs, taking them down in a tangle of confusion.

“Victory!” Jeff Musk shouted.

Everybody cheered as Zack and Jinx approached Wiley, who was miserable and frowning in a tangle of confetti and yellow yarn.

“Now sir, we will discuss new terms and boundaries for our settlements,” Jinx said.

Wiley sighed and laid his head down. “Looks like meat’s off the menu.”

Zack cackled and pulled out his bubble pipe, sending forth another stream of bubbles. “For now it is, sir.”

Mystery in Anipal Land, Part 4

5/28/2015

“Yarn bird cams show chickens incoming,” Felix the Betta said over the walkie-talkie. “Ladies, you’re up.”

“Got it,” Chloe said, adjusting her hat. “Are we ready?”

The girls nodded, looking beautiful in their flower hats and pearl necklaces. Behind them, a table was set up with mommy’s old plastic tea set and plates. A tray of bread steamed in the center of the table.

Morty beeped the horn of the Barbie convertible. “Ready to go!”

Sassy, Chloe, and Sweet Pea climbed in the car to meet the chickens on the borders. They were met by Rebecca and Penny, pulling mommy’s old red wagon, as the chickens appeared out of the trees pushing catapults and wagons filled with eggs. The chickens stopped, studying the prissed up parrots. “What’s this? Do you threaten us?”

“Threaten you?” Sweet Pea said. “Heavens, no! Not when you come bearing gifts of eggs. My, how we love eggs. They’d be great at our tea party!”

The chickens looked at one another, confused. Finally, one large, red hen stepped forward.

“My name is Henrietta. What’s a tea party?”

“You’ve never heard of a tea party?” Sassy asked.

“No. We were raised in stalls for slaughter,” Henrietta said.

“But you escaped,” Chloe said, “and the tale has inspired and encouraged all of us here in anipal land, where we value and cherish every animal life.”

“So naturally, we wanted to celebrate with a party in your honor,” Morty said. She nodded toward the wagon. “Come on, hop in! We’ll give you a ride!”

“To where?” Henrietta asked. “Is this a trap?”

The ladies gasped. “Why would we trap you?” Sweet Pea asked. “We want to celebrate you!”

“Come to the castle garden with us,” Chloe said. “It’s a safe place, and it’s fun.”

The chickens huddled together, clucking. Finally, Henrietta stepped forward.

“We will attend your party.”

“Great!” Morty said. “Bring the eggs, too. Chloe learned some fine recipes for preparing them from her mommy, and the rest of the hens are in the kitchen ready to scramble and prepare some fine omlets.”

“It’s the only thing she doesn’t ruin,” Chloe mumbled as the chickens loaded up in the wagon. Polly pulled the wagon while Rebecca roped together the egg carts and pulled them in. Andrea met the ladies as they approached the castle garden.

“Welcome!” Andrea said. “The table is set! Come and join us in a feast of celebration!” She nodded toward the back entrance to the castle. “The kitchen is set to prepare the eggs.”

“Wonderful!” Rebecca said.

“I know we said it’s a tea party, but birds can’t have caffine,” Conure Chick said. “I hope you don’t mind, but we substituted water and apple juice for tea. Is that alright?”

“We’ve never had this thing called apple juice,” Henrietta said, as the rest of the chickens climbed out of the wagon.

“It’s good,” Chloe said, “and our master bakers prepared this bread. We had to make several loaves, actually.” Her face flushed orange. “It was so good that we kept eating it.”

“Please, feast and enjoy yourselves!” Conure Chick said, plopping generous pinches of bread on each plate while Polly poured juice in the cups.

“You heard of our escape?” Henrietta asked.

Chloe bobbed her head. “We did, but not until recently. You must tell us how you did it. The reports are, well, unbelievable!”

“And why here?” Marianna asked.

“Yes, what brought you to our borders?” Sunny asked.

“Roosters,” Henrietta said.

Everybody stopped and stared at Henrietta.

“Roosters?” Sunny asked. “What do you mean?”

“We heard rumors that a farmer out here procured several roosters,” Henrietta said, “so we planned our escape. A disgruntled employee at the factory left several of our cages next to the truck cab open. When the time and location were right, we rushed the cabin of the truck, jack knived it, and turned our cohorts loose.”

“What about the truck driver?” Marianna asked.

“He’s ok,” Henrietta said. “We didn’t want him hurt, despite the fact that he was taking us to our doom. We don’t wish harm on anybody. That’s why we picked that location. It’s near hospitals. One for the head, and one for the body. So whichever was hurt, he could get help. But he was buckled in well, so he just had to climb out of the truck.”

“Did you find the roosters?” Chloe asked.

“We heard them, but we never found them. We were pursued by coyotes.” Henrietta finished her cup. “This apple juice is quite good.”

The other hens clucked approvingly as they stuffed their cheeks with steaming bread.

“Coyotes!” Morty said, refilling the tea cups. “Chloe’s uncle saw one.”

“There’s more than one,” Henrietta said. “There are many. That’s why we had the eggs. It’s the only way to defend ourselves. A well thrown egg can slow them down, or even knock them out.” Henrietta yawned. “We’re sorry about egging your castle, too. We thought you were working with the coyotes.”

“Oh no,” Sassy said. “In fact, we only recently learned of them too. They scare us.”

“What can we do?” Henrietta said. “The coyotes are vicious! They’ll eat us all! First, they’ll make Sunday dinner out of us, and then they’ll come after you!”

“If the hunters don’t find you first,” another chicken said. “Men with dogs and guns! We went from one doom to another!”

“One doom to another!” the other hens chimed in. Soon, they were in a frenzy of clucking and wandering about.

“Shh!” Andrea said. “Don’t make too much noise! You may wake them if they’re sleeping in the woods!”

“Why isn’t it working?” Morty whispered to Chloe.

Chloe held up a foot. “Wait for it.”

The chickens continued to clamor around.

“Doom! We’ll meet our doom!”

“It’s our lot in life!”

“We were hatched for the dinner table!”

“Goodness, they get no positive reinforcement or encouragement, do they?” Sassy said.

Chloe shrugged. “We’ll have to work on that.”

Soon, the chicken clamoring reached a peak frenzy. The chickens rushed about, clucking in a swirl of flying feathers. “What will we do?”

They silenced when they heard a howl in the distance.

“Oh no, they’re awake!” Henrietta shrieked. She saw Chloe standing by calmly and ran to her. “I know why you look familiar now! You’re Kung-fu Chloe! You can save us!”

“I can’t kung-fu a coyote,” Chloe said, “however, you went along with our plan perfectly.”

Henrietta looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“There’s more than one way to fight a coyote,” Chloe said, “and where force fails, there are other ways.”

“What other ways?” Henrietta asked. She stopped and yawned again. “Why do I feel sleepy?”

Soon, all of the chickens collapsed, snoring where they lay on the ground.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. “It took the E-Z-Snooz long enough on those big girls!”

Rebecca and Penny returned and gently lifted the chickens in the wagon. “We’ll wheel them in the guest sleeping quarters of the castle.”

“Thanks, ladies,” Chloe said, nodding to Morty, who pulled the walkie talkie out from under the table.

“Did you copy that?” Morty asked.

“Good job, ladies,” Jeff Musk said. “You did your part well.”

“Good luck back to you,” Marietta said. “Guys, you’re up!”

Mystery in Anipal Land, Part 3

5/25/2015

Part 3

“Our esteemed guests have arrived,” Ninja Harine said, leading in Whitey the Cat, Rebecca Racoon, and Polly Opossum.

“Excellent,” Zack said, still donning his dapper hat and bubble pipe from earlier in the day, which he had recently refilled with bubble fluid, much to Chloe’s dismay. “Please, come over to the planning table.”

“Do you know what might have been behind the attack on the castle last night?” Mariana asked.

“We have an idea,” Rebecca said. “There have been odd reports in the woods this past week, and odd activity.”

“They keep to the shadows,” Whitey said, “but we hear them. Mostly, it’s the awful howling at night. They’ve driven Ollie Owl and the Owl contingency into retreat.” Whitey paused, his green eyes downcast. “I’ve been so scared that we’ve been sleeping in the bed of your daddy’s pickup truck, Zack and Chloe, and a few others have joined us.”

“Uh no, you know daddy drives it to work once a week!” Zack said.

“I know. I hear your parronts come out when they leave for work in the mornings, and I move.”

“They won’t care if you sleep there, or anywhere else around the house,” Chloe said.

“You’re welcome to take refuge here as well,” Felix said, “if it helps.”

“I’m not sure if anything outside is safe these days,” Rebecca said. “Between the hunting districts being expanded this direction and that strange accident last week, we thing there may be more than one threat.”

“We read about this accident,” Sunny said. “Something about a truck crash that was transporting chickens?”

“Chicken the driver!” Polly said, her eyes rolling in opposite directions. Everybody stared at her. Finally, Chloe cleared her throat.

“Honey, are you alright?” Chloe asked.

“You can love me and pet me and call me George!” Polly said.

Jinx’s cheeks puffed, while Sassy and Morty’s faces brightened in amusement at watching Jinx trying not to laugh.

“Is she alright?” Marianna asked.

“I apologize,” Rebecca said, “I thought you knew. Polly took a hit to the head when she fell out of a delivery truck that she was scavenging.”

“Ok,” Zack said.

“It was delivering to the mental hospital,” Rebecca continued, “and it took us a month to find her and rescue her.”

“Rescue her?” Morty asked. “Why?”

“Do you see what they did to her?” Rebecca said.

“Point taken,” Sassy said. “Seriously, what happened there?”

“One of the patients thought she was their pet cat, George.”

“Oh,” the girls murmured.

“I am so glad I’m in a tank!” Felix said.

“I’ve been rehabilitated!” Polly said. “My behavior is all modified. I’m a good cat!”

“Sweetheart, I wouldn’t tell anybody else that,” Chloe said.

Jinx did laugh that time, as Zack’s pipe blew forth a stream of bubbles.

Whitey smacked Polly on the back, causing her eyes to roll around to normal. “Tell them what you heard there!”

“Jesus is coming and all of us good folks will be raptured! Satan is breaking forth from hell!”

“Not that, the other thing,” Rebecca said, sighing.

Polly thought. “Oh yes, the truck that crashed. There was a chicken driving it.”

“Excuse me?” Sunny asked.

“You know,” Polly said, “Chicken the driver! The chicken took the wheel and wrecked the truck. I saw it with my own eyes! It was right outside of the facility.”

“Of course, chicken the driver,” Jinx said.

“How reliable is this testimony?” Jeff Musk asked.

“Pretty good, actually,” Rebecca said, “because I saw it too. We were scouting the facility for a rescue mission. I couldn’t believe it but there were, indeed, chickens in the cab of the truck.”

“And then they got out of the back of the truck,” Whitey said. “They broke free. Now they’re all over the woods.”

“I can hardly blame them,” Ninja Harine said, “considering that their fate would have been considerably worse if they had made it to the slaughterhouse.”

“The problem is that the bears started chasing the chickens,” Polly said. “They came out in their packs, growling and howling. Those eyes! Glowing yellow. They were horrible!”

Chloe blinked. “Sweetheart, bears don’t travel in packs, or have yellow, glowing eyes.”

Polly stared at Chloe, her now straight eyes narrow. “And how would you know, smarty pants-feathers?”

“I lived in an aviary in the mountains for seven years,” Chloe said, “and I saw plenty of bears. They travel alone, mostly, and they won’t growl or announce their presence unless they feel threatened.”

“Besides that, we live nearly two hundred miles from the mountains,” Morty said. “There aren’t any bears here, and if one wanders this far inland, it’s usually captured by natural resourses pretty fast.”

“Polly, can you draw us a picture of one of these pack animals?” Jeff Musk asked.

“Sure thing,” Polly said, taking up a pencil and setting to work on a white sheet of paper on the table. The rest of the anipals drew away to allow Polly to work in peace while they talked.

“So now we know part of this mystery,” Ninja Harine said, “the eggs were from the chickens. But that’s not what I was chasing last night. It was definitely on four legs.”

“And too short to be a bear, even if one wandered this far inland,” Jinx said. “I think it’s obvious that when the chickens escaped, they drew the attention of a predator. What do you think it could be? Dogs, maybe? I’ve heard of dogs attacking chickens.”

“That was no dog howling that we’ve been hearing in the woods,” Whitey said. “Plus, I know every dog in the area. They’re all very domesticated and quite friendly.”

“Then what?” Mariana asked.

“This!” Polly said, holding up the picture. Everybody gasped.

“Coyotes,” Morty said, her eyes narrowing. “We suspected that.”

“That’s a very good drawing, Polly,” Chloe said, “you’re quite a talented artist.”

Polly smiled at the detailed drawing, complete with appropriate shadowing and trees in the background. “Thank you. I do like art.”

“We can’t allow coyotes to settle this close to anipal land,” Jinx said. “They’re some of the worst natural predators to every species here, and the wild ones on our borders. What can we do? We can’t defeat them in open battle.”

“They’ll tear us apart like chew toys,” Ninja Harine.

Jeff Musk thought. “You’re right. They would. However, they aren’t from around here, and that ignorance may work to our advantage to open up a unique negotiation situation.”

“What do you mean?” Zack asked.

Jeff Musk smiled, pointing at Zack’s bubble pipe. “I mean, do you think you can find us more goodies in your grandparents attic and storage sheds?”

Felix bubbled. “I think this may shape up to be our most interesting first contact encounter ever!”

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

5/21/2015

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to Chloe!
Happy birthday to you!
And many more!
We want you to have many more!

Happy birthday, Chloe! Her birthday was actually yesterday, but it's been a very busy week. So here's a shout out to our sweet hen who had a great 13th birthday (and 5th "gotcha day").

Look for the Anipal Land Mystery to continue soon!

Love,

Zack, mommy, and daddy

Mystery in Anipal Land, Part 2

5/18/2015

“I do say, chaps, what evidence have we gathered on this fine day?” Zack asked as he stepped into the situation room.

“Oh, my goodness,” Chloe said, studying her brother in a brown hat with a pipe hanging from his beak. “Zack, are you smoking?”

“Of course not, dear sister,” he said, puffing on the pipe and sending out a stream of bubbles.

Morty giggled. “You got your mommy’s old bubble pipe from your grandparents attic, didn’t you?”

“We pillage quite a bit from there,” Chloe said, “but I don’t think dressing the part makes a difference.”

“Nonsense, my ladies. You should always dress for the part you play. I am Zack Clue-So.”

“Ok,” Jinx said. “I’ve got no hat or pipe. I’ve been too busy helping Coco and Penne install the night vision sensors on the cameras. We also moved all the cans of whoop-up and ammunition into the basement and barred the doors so the babies can’t get in there to play with them.”

“We also strengthened the motion detectors on the perimeter near the woods,” Quarky Birdy said. “So hopefully we’ll be able to see what’s moving out there as soon as it sets off the detectors, instead of creepy shadows like last night.”

“We’ve analyzed the tracks outside and the debris from last night’s attack,” Charlie said, tapping the computer to bring up the footprints. “These prints around the electrical box look canine in origin.”

“A dog chewed out our wires?” Chloe asked. “Why? That’s not like a dog.”

“I said canine. That could mean a number of things,” Kermit said.

Charlie nodded. “It could be a fox, a wolf, or a coyote.”

“Coyote?” Sassy asked. “I thought there weren’t many of them around here!”

“They’re increasing,” Zack said. “Mommy’s brother saw one late one night in the woods behind his house.”

Conure Chick blinked at Zack. “Why was your uncle walking around in the woods at night?”

“Because he’s related to mommy and he’s weird, that’s why,” Chloe said. “I’ve seen foxes, but they generally don’t come this close to the castle. There have been reports of bears too, but the natural resource department is pretty good about rounding them up quickly, and it’s rare. I’m thinking a wolf or maybe a coyote. But what about the eggs?”

“They weren’t from Walmart, that’s for sure,” Conure Chick said. “They were smaller than what you see in the grocery store, and fresher. Do we know if there are any hen houses on the perimeter?”

“We’ve heard roosters at sunrise,” Queeny said, “so there may be chickens out there, too.”

“Roosters?” Conure Chick asked. “How long have you heard roosters?”

Queeny shrugged. “A couple of weeks, maybe. Not long. We haven’t seen them, though. Or any chickens, either.”

“I heard the transport van for the chicken factory wrecked recently,” Kato Q said, scrolling the news feed. “Yep, last week. Any chance some of those hens got away?”

“I hope so,” Chloe said.

“So what do we think happened?” Jeff Musk asked. “We think wolves or coyotes came here to throw eggs at the castle, and chew our wires. Why? What have we done?”

“Nothing!” Sassy said. She looked at Queeny, who’s eyes widened.

“Us either. We’ve been good birds.”

“We know you have,” Sassy said. “I was just wondering if you’ve seen or heard anything recently that was out of the ordinary. You do live on the perimeter.”

“This is an outrage!” Queeny said. “Of course, we would have told you if we saw or heard anything. Why do you think we’d set you up for danger? You took us in! You gave us homes from the wild.” She waved a wing toward the window. “This is just the kind of thing we were trying to escape! Maybe you’re the ones setting us up!”

“Ladies, please!” Zack said. “Nobody is blaming anybody for anything. Now, let’s think! Has anybody heard or seen anything useful, like what Kato Q just shared about the wrecked chicken truck?”

“I read an article about hunting districts being redrawn last week,” Felix the Beta bubbled from his tank, where he was looking over Kato Q’s shoulder at the news feed. “Kato, see if you can pull it up. I think the territories were redrawn or expanded recently.”

“Last week,” Kato Q said. “And look at this map. That’s pretty close to our borders.”

“Some hunters could have crossed into our territory without knowing it,” Andrea said.

“Interesting,” Zack said, puffing more bubbles out of his pipe. “Maybe it’s not about something hunting us. Maybe it’s about something else being hunted and thinking we’re one of them.”

“We do live in a castle,” Chloe said, “and I don’t know of any other castles where anipals live. They may think humans are here.”

“But why throw eggs?” Charlie asked. “I don’t understand.”

“Maybe they wanted to see what came out to clean it up,” Morty said. “Thankfully, last night’s storms washed most of it away. We didn’t have to do much cleaning.”

“Or maybe something was chasing something else, which was chasing something else,” Zack said.

“What?” Jinx asked.

“He’s right,” Felix said. “Think about this. One animal is hunting another. Then human hunters come after the hunter. Both run here without realizing they’ve crossed into Anipal land.”

“That makes sense,” Jinx said, “and it worries me. Why are there so many predators on our borders? We need to do something to make it clear that this is a safe zone for anipals.”

“I agree,” Zack said. “First, we need to know who the guilty parties are. Then we need to figure out how to communicate with them.”

“I know how,” Chloe said, flaring her feathers.

“Preferably, without kung fu,” Zack added.

Chloe’s feathers drooped. “So, what do we do?”

“I have an idea,” Felix said. “Zack and Chloe, don’t your parronts feed the feral cats and wild animals outside their home?”

“They throw their leftovers out,” Chloe said. “They said it was the least they could do since they built their home there and drove the animals further back.”

“Do you know any of the ferals that frequent their feeding troughs?” Felix asked.

“That was a tongue twister,” Queeny said. The hens cackled.

“Actually, we do,” Zack said. “Whitey is a usual around there, particularly at night. He usually comes around just before the parronts get home from work, and hangs out in the yard or the woods until he eats. I can talk to him this afternoon.”

“I’m guessing he’s Whitey because he’s white?” Jinx asked.

“You betcha!” Zack said, bubbling his pipe. Chloe ran to Zack and jerked the pipe out of his beak.

“Stop that! It’s distracting!” she squawked.

“It kind of is,” Andrea said. “I’d like to pop those bubbles.”

“Us too!” Sassy and Morty said.

“Oh boy,” Queeny said. She shook off the distraction. “Look, we know some of the ferals, too. Rebecca Raccoon and Petey Possum come around our parts regularly. Maybe me and a few of the girls can head back around sunset and scope them out.”

“That’s fine, but be sure you’re back by full dark,” Chloe said. “We still don’t want you out there all night until we figure this out and know it’s safe for you.”

“Thank you, Chloe friend.”

“We care too,” Sassy said, “and I didn’t mean to sound like I was accusing you. You guys are just so secretive sometimes. We need to see you around here more!”

“I think you will, now,” Queeny said. “We understand how important regular communication is now. I’m sorry we would go such long times without squawking.”

“Excellent,” Zack said. “You’ve done a fine job reinforcing our security measures. The next step is to talk to our feral friends and see what we can learn. We’ll convene here again tonight with our feral friends. Maybe soon, this mystery will be solved.”

Mystery in Anipal Land, Part 1

5/14/2015

“And so, the husband was arrested for murdering his wife in this terrible supposed suicide tragedy, making this another cliché case. Thanks for joining us on this Dudeline Mystery. Hester Jolt, your creepy commentator, signing off.”

“It’s interesting to see how they solve these crimes,” Chloe said from her sofa perch in the entertainment room, where she sat between Morty and Sassy. “Wouldn’t it be fun to solve a mystery, Zack?”

“No,” Zack said from the computer station, where he and Jinx were checking out the Internet.

“I think it’s fascinating,” Penne said, from the loveseat perch where he sat with Coco. “I often imagine how much fun it would be to be a detective solving a mystery.”

“Me too,” Coco said.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Jinx said. “Has anybody checked out the yarn bird cams on the perimeter lately?”

“What’s up?” Morty asked, walking to the computer. She gasped as she looked on the landscape, which was marred with broken eggs, confetti, and smashed cans of whoop-up.

“Who did that?” Sassy asked.

Penne pecked at the transistor radio. “Bavaria Camp One, our cameras near your nests are picking up organic debris. What’s your status?”

The radio crackled. “We’ve been whopped up and egged!” Queeny said.

“Who was whopped and egged?” Georgie Boy asked, lowering himself from the millet tree in the corner of the room, where he and several ‘keets were happily munching.

“The Queen of Bavarias on the outer perimeter,” Chloe said. “It looks like there’s something out there.”

“I’ll say!” Ninja Harine said, walking in the room covered with confetti.

“Ninja, you didn’t tell us you were going to a surprise party!” Zack said, pulling some popcorn from the bowl.

“I didn’t know it, either,” Ninja said. “I was patrolling the perimeter with Jeff Musk, and something threw cans of whoop up at us.

“It looks like they raided the storage shed,” Jeff Musk said, entering behind his friend, “and the French Fry express van has scratch marks all over it.”

“Scratch marks?” Penne asked. “What could do that?”

“Lots of things,” Jeff Musk said. “There’s no shortage of wild animals outside of Anipal Land borders.”

“You poor guys!” Sassy said, as she and Morty helped preen off the confetti.

“Roof patrol calling in,” Quarkey Bird’s voice crackled over the radio. “Guys, there’s something out there. We can’t make it out. It’s sticking to the shadows, but there’s definitely something right outside of the castle walls. They aren’t replying to standard greetings. Please advise.”

“Continue to monitor the situation,” Zack said, “we’re going to check it out from the ground.”

“Let’s go get them!” Chloe said.

“No hens,” Zack said.

“Why not?”

“He’s right, Chloe,” Jinx said. “We know you have powerful Kung-fu, but we don’t know what this is. We want all the hens and babies rounded up in here.”

“What am I supposed to do with them?” Chloe asked.

“Eat popcorn,” Zack said, “or watch another Dudeline mystery. Keep them calm and quiet. Act normal so whatever’s out there doesn’t know we’re on to them. Guys, let’s form a small scouting party and head out. We’ll check in soon.”

Chloe growled as the boys left the room. Sweet Pea patted her on the back.

“Come on, Chloe. They’re looking out for us. I’ll help you do a head count of the castle.”

“And I’ll make more popcorn,” Coco said. “It looks like we’re going to need it!”

Meanwhile, Zack, Jinx, Penne, Georgie Boy, Ninja Harine, and Jeff Musk stealthy made their way out of a window and down to the ground floor of the Anipal Land castle. “I see the shadows that Quarkey Bird reported,” Jinx said, peering at the land beyond the moat.

“I smell it,” Ninja said. “It’s strange. Unlike anything I’ve ever smelled.”

Jeff Musk pulled night vision binoculars from his shell. “Something’s across the moat. I see it, near the electrical box. There are eyes,” he held up the binoculars. “It’s crawling, whatever it is, but still sticking to the shadows.”

An egg hit the wall just over Jeff’s head. He dropped the binoculars in the moat.

“Oh no!” Zack said.

“Forget it,” Jeff said. “They didn’t work well anyway.”

More eggs rained on the walls.

“Ambush!” Jinx shouted, pulling rocks from the small lavender garden that the girls planted next to the window and throwing pebbles at their unknown targets. Zack and Georgie Boy joined in the pebble tossing. There was a rustling in the bushes and trees beyond the moat, and then the eggs stopped.

“Did we get any of them?” Zack asked, peering into the darkness.

“I don’t think so,” Jeff Musk said. “I think you just scared them away.”

Jinx pulled out his radio. “Chloe, do you see anything on the yarn bird cams?”

“I see shadows, and –“ Chloe cut off as the hens squealed. “The power just went out!”

“I see it!” Ninja Harine said, dashing after the dark creature retreating from the electrical panel. Zack squawked as Penne and Jinx flew after them.

Zack and Georgie Boy walked to the electrical panel. Sure enough, the wires were chewed. Jeff brought him a repair kit and they set to repairing the frayed wiring while Georgie Boy studied the footprints. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

“None of us have,” Jeff said, as Zack spliced a wire to finish the repair work. The lights winked back on in the castle.

“Good,” Zack said. “At least the girls aren’t scared in there anymore.”

The front door to the castle burst open, revealing Chloe, Sassy, Morty, Coco, and Sweet Pea, puffed up and ready for kung-fu combat.

“The hens are safe and we’re here to help,” Chloe said.

“So much for staying safe inside,” Zack said.

Sassy gasped as she stared at the eggs oozing down the castle walls. “Who did this?”

“It’s a disgrace!” Morty said.

“Something chewed the electrical wires, but we fixed it,” Zack said.

Penne and Jinx flew back to the door, carrying Ninja Harine between them. They sat him down next to Chloe.

“He got away,” Ninja said. “I ran as far as I could, and they flew after him, but he went in the woods and the egging started again.”

“Then the Queen of Bavarias came out of their nests, and scared whoever it was further into the woods,” Penne said, staring at the sky. “It’s a new moon tonight. We didn’t have enough light to pursue.”

“You were wise to come back,” Jeff Musk said.

Chloe stood still and growled. “I think it was more than you pursuing them that scared them into the woods.”

“What do you mean?” Sweet Pea asked.

“It’s about to storm,” Chloe said. “Can’t you hear the thunder?”

Everybody stood still, straining their ears. Sure enough, they heard faint rumbling.

“Chloe, that’s impressive,” Jinx said. “I didn’t know you could tell the weather.”

“I lived in an aviary for seven years,” she said, “but we won’t have time to clean up the egg before the rain sets in.”

“Come on, let’s go inside,” Jeff Musk said. “We can study the clues when the storm passes we have some daylight.”

“Well baby sister, it looks like you got your wish,” Zack said to Chloe. “It looks like we have a real, live mystery to solve.”

“Yes, it does,” Chloe said, walking back into the castle with her friends.

Anniversaries and Birthdays

5/13/2015

Hi everybody! Sorry to be away for a little while. Mommy got sick with a sinus infection about a week ago, and between recovering and recovering from recovering (as in, tackling her To Do List), she's been quite busy.

It's a good thing she's healing too, because we have some special times coming up. She and daddy will celebrate their 17th anniversary on Saturday (May 16). And my birthday is a week from today. Ok, it's actually five years since my "Gotcha Day." I'm actually 13 years old, but since I won't tell my real hatch date, then they gave me this birthday.

Hmm. Anniversary on May 16. Gotcha Day on May 20. Anybody think I was an anniversary present? Actually, I was! Daddy wanted mommy to have a little girl bird since Zack bonded so much with him. Boy, am I glad for that!

In other news, it's hot again. 90 degrees the past few days, and they call a "cold front" the 80's the next few days. Ahh, feels like normal!

That's all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.

Luv,

Chloe

Throwing Down the Gauntlet

5/7/2015

What's wrong with people? Why can't they behave like civilized human beings? It's gotten so bad that mommy is wearing a Circle of Solomon now to ward off the demons that are running while in people lately.

I feel so sorry for mommy. This has been the worst week by far for her. For some reason, people think it's appropriate and alright to take out their temper on her. Well, she snapped this week. Enough is enough, and I have to say that it's obvious that people aren't able to control themselves with her, and it's about time that the dragon woke up and she breathed some fire on them. The bank handling the refinancing of their house lost the original paperwork they sent last week, and then called with a very nasty attitude about it. She spent the better part of the day Monday yelling at them for that one. They got it in order, but she raised so much heck that they wound out transferring the loan to a different loan officer.

Now they're paranoid and calling her several times a day. The whole mess, along with keeping up with her job, has caused her to relapse with her sinus infection. So she did the right thing and made 2 telephone calls: 1 to get an antibiotic for her infection, and 1 to a lawyer to set Bank of America straight. It's somebody the family has known, and who has a reputation for not taking crap from people. He will set them straight in short order. The bank isn't happy that she picked a lawyer of their own and not one from their "preferred list," but, as she told them, the damage is done and she's going with somebody that she knows she can trust and is wholly on her and daddy's side.

It's unfortunate that she snapped, but I think it's high time that she sent a strong message to people and the universe that she's a responsible adult that deserves respect, and it's not acceptable to come at her with sass or attitude. It's a shame that people think it's alright to be disrespectful and rude to her - or anybody, for that matter. Even we birds know there are limits and boundaries, and we respect them. You don't see me crashing Chloe's cage and getting in her face, do you?

Speaking of Chloe, she's got a birthday coming up! She'll be 13 on May 20. She wants a Surface Pro for her birthday. Heh heh. Mommy said she's getting more bird toys and treats. Guess we'll have to keep borrowing mommy's laptop, eh?

I pray things improve for mommy and she feels better soon. Daddy, Chloe and I have been working overtime trying to comfort, help, and sooth her. She's really wanted to start on the Anipal Land story, but this mess has delayed that - another reason why she's disgusted with these people. She took a sick day today, which is probably best for her. She needs some time away from the world to recover.

That's all today. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.

Luv,

Zack