Virtual Quill

Eventful happenings back home, just when I’m swamped with my own workload. This means I have to hear everything secondhand from my bridesmaids, Fiona and Corrie.
With her broken tibia, Kell was unable to meet her prey quota which put her job at risk. Kell had no other options, so she agreed to have Sheila disguise herself and go out hunting in her place. (The disguise was important, as Herd Thinners has informants planted all over The Wild to ensure that their predators follow company policy. The informants are prey that had been caught and allowed to return for that purpose.) Sheila tried to hunt by taking directions from Kell via cell phone, but it wasn’t effective.
Instead she found her boyfriend Frank Mangle who saw through the disguise immediately. (They obviously have become close!) Frank confessed that the reason he has despised Kell all these years was because she once chased him up a tree when they were little. Except...it wasn’t Kell who did that. Sheila admitted it was her.
Faced with seeing the incident in a new light, Frank realized how juvenile it was for him to hold a grudge that long. That issue was resolved, but there was still the problem of finding prey weeks before the herds were scheduled to arrive.
Unexpectedly, they came early. Unlike some parts of the country, the weather has been warm here and the herds thundered over the hills just in time for all the predators to make their quota.
You know, it just occurred to me. Kell admits that she chased her share of felines up trees as a pup, but she never remembered chasing Ms. Eyeshine (who, of course, remembered it vividly). Do you think that was actually Sheila that time as well?

I woke yesterday at sunset to find a bunch of E-mails and texts from the family back home, saying that Kell had broken her left tibia while hunting. It had happened in The Wild when she’d fallen into a gopher hole. I immediately asked if I should come home right away, but Kell said no; everything was under control.
Kell knew right away it was a fracture, and called Dad on her personal cell phone. (If she’d called the Herd Thinners predator distress line she would have been under their care...and often those who enter the company health system aren’t seen again until they’re found in a grocery store display case.)
Dad and Rudy found her about twenty minutes later and carried her to the minivan. Dr. Caduceus said it was a clean break, not a spiral fracture, and put it in a cast for the next six weeks. He said she’ll be back to full speed in about three to four months.
Today I asked again what I could do and Kell said nothing at the moment. With the Hare-Link staff downstairs she has a full house of people helping her out, plus Ms. Eyeshine across the street and Fiona, Corrie and Martha next door in the boarding house.
Then there’s her cousin Sheila. The whole reason Kell was out hunting when prey is nowhere to be found is because R.L. said he’d fire anyone who failed to meet a new quota. Now Kell is injured, and Sheila (who hasn’t hunted in forever) has volunteered to try.
Kell may need my help after all, but the bugs that I’d bring in don’t weigh that much.
Today's question: Am I an awful person for wondering how this will affect my wedding plans?

Happy Valentines Day! We got our share of snow this time; 4.25 inches on Friday evening. The sun came out Saturday and melted a great deal of it, but then the temps went into the twenties and refroze everything. As a result, no moonlight flights for us. We stayed snuggled inside nice, warm Tree, playing Wii games.
Tree is continuing her recovery, getting stronger with each passing day. The ground here is sturdy enough to support her, and soft enough to allow her root system to spread. Her sap pressure is slightly low, but improving. We’re careful not to turn on too many of her systems at once. At first we questioned whether we should even be living inside her at this point, but she insisted. She said that having us here improved her spirits, which of course is the best medicine.
Birds are nesting in her upper branches, which is another sign of health. That makes Fenton nervous for some reason, though, but he can’t put his finger on why.
Um, did I say that we were living inside Tree? Um...My official residence is back at the dorm with Rachel. That’s where my mail goes. Move along, people, nothing to see here.
With everything going on, Spring Break for us will be Going Berserk With Wedding Plans Break. But I’ve ranted enough about that in recent blogs so I’ll spare you for this week at least.
A friend named Jim Hunkler sent the snow-Kell and snow-Coney. Did any of you make snow creatures?

In what is probably a common reaction among grooms, Fenton got all emo about being left out of the wedding plans. (Yeah, I wish I could have that option!) These feelings came despite his having absolutely zero interest in the various tasks, or the ability to carry them out even if he did. It’s one of the major events in his life and it’s totally beyond his control. Letting him figure out the seating chart for the reception should keep him busy, even if he accomplishes it by writing special computer code.
Most of the planning is taking place at Tree, with Rachel and Rhonda and (via Skype) Tammy. Rhonda is disappointed that Fenton and I won’t be living in the Family Housing dorm next year with her and Quinn. Speaking of Quinn, he accompanies Rhonda during her visits here and he and Fenton end up on the sofa playing video games.
My bridesmaids are going to be Rhonda, Rachel, Tammy, Fiona and Corrie. Rachel wondered if her girlfriend Joan could be included, but I had to say no simply because I don’t know Joan that well. I’ve already had to turn down several of my old herbivore friends from Caliban.
Speaking of being left out, Tree (who is still on the mend) wishes that she could attend the ceremony in some fashion. I came up with a solution. Coney, as the Flower Girl, won’t be sprinkling flower petals as she walks down the aisle. Instead, Coney will use the pine needles that came off Tree during the process of being loaded onto the truck last month. (There were lots of those!)
Today's question for those of you on the east coast of the US: how many inches of snow did you get? (We just got cold, awful, nasty rain.)