A Busy Bee, a Noisy Blue Jay & a Seedman in the Making

Some weeks seem to quietly pass by.

And then there are weeks where you stop, look around and think…

Wait. How is it Sunday already?

This has definitely been one of those weeks.

Day-by-day life has been busy, and somewhere in between everything else, I’ve been working away behind the scenes on rawberrybugs. I’ve been creating, updating, planning, sharing, posting and, of course, trying to get the word out about Our Backyard.

And while I’ve been busy doing all of that, apparently the residents of the actual backyard have been busy too.

Excuse Me…Where Are My Peanuts?

Lately, we’ve had a Blue Jay who has developed a bit of a routine.

She comes to the door.

She screeches.

And she waits.

Apparently, we now operate a peanut delivery service.

There isn’t much subtlety involved either. If nobody responds quickly enough, she is more than happy to make her presence known.

HELLO? HUMAN? PEANUTS?

At least, that’s what I’m convinced she’s saying.

But over the last few days, we discovered something.

Our demanding little Blue Jay is a Momma Blue Jay.

And she has started bringing her babies with her.

Watching them together has been absolutely adorable-and slightly hilarious-because I’m beginning to think those babies are driving their poor mother nuts.

They follow her.

They call for her.

They want food.

They want attention.

And momma seems to be trying very hard to teach them how this whole “being a Blue Jay” thing works.

As a mom myself, I may recognize that look.

The one that says:

I love you very much…but could everyone please stop needing me for five minutes?

And this is why Our Backyard exists

These are the moments that keep reminding me why I created Our Backyard in the first place.

You don’t always have to travel somewhere spectacular to find a story.

Sometimes you just have to look out the window.

A Blue Jay demanding peanuts.

Baby birds discovering the world.

A squirrel doing something ridiculous.

A dragonfly hovering nearby.

A raccoon getting into something it absolutely shouldn’t.

There are tiny stories happening around us every single day.

And apparently some of them scream at the door until you give them peanuts.

Meanwhile…Back at rawberrybugs

While Momma Blue Jay has been managing her little family, I’ve been a bit of a Busy Bee myself.

I’ve been continuing to work on the website, creating new activities and ideas, working on some new classroom resources, sharing Our Backyard, and figuring out what comes next.

And one certain straw-hat-wearing fellow has been taking up quite a bit of space in my brain lately.

Seedman

Or, as you may eventually come to know him…

Hmm, I don’t think I am ready to release his name yet…

Well, I’ve been working on seedman’s character, his personality, his quirks and, most importantly, exactly how his story is going to unfold.

I know the backyard.

I know the characters.

I know there will be mysteries.

I know there will be trouble.

Specially with Rusty the raccoon, who you have already seen, and the new additions of three mischievous crows and a squirrel, I’m fairly certain there will be plenty of chaos.

What I haven’t completely decided yet is how we’re going to get there.

And I’ve been thinking…

Maybe I shouldn’t decide everything by myself.

Maybe You Should Help Create Bits and Pieces of Seedman’s Story.

Over the next little while, I think I may turn to social media and let you all help me make a few decisions about Seedman’s world.

Nothing that gives away the whole story, of course.

I have to keep a few secrets.

But maybe you can help decide a character’s funny habit.

Maybe you can choose what goes wrong.

Maybe I’ll give you two completely ridiculous possibilities and let you decide which one makes it into the story.

Who knows?

Seedman may be my next book… but perhaps a little piece of his adventure can belong to all of us.

And I have a feeling this could get interesting.

Especially if the squirrel is involved.

So Yes…I’ve Been A Busy Bee

It has been one of those weeks filled with regular life, creating, planning, learning, fixing things, changing my mind, changing it back again, and trying to introduce more people to the little world I’ve created in Our Backyard.

And through all of it, the real backyard keeps giving me new stories.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll probably hear that familiar screech outside the door.

I’ll grab a few peanuts.

Momma Blue Jay will collect her breakfast.

Her babies will probably drive her crazy, and then I’ll head back inside and keep creating.

Because I’m beginning to realize something.

The backyard never really runs out of stories.

And neither do I.

Until next time…

Keep exploring.

R.A. Wallace