New Things

      🐲Indigo scratched her head with a scaly claw. "So you're telling me you may be visiting another country? Where are you going? And when? Can I go? Do they even allow dragons?"

     Scratch smiled at the little blue dragon. "Yes, it's called 'Canada', and it will be in August. Yes, you can go, and as far as I know you won't need a passport. I, however, will need to start getting the things together for one. They're not cheap and there may be a waiting period for one. " 

    King Louis looked thoughtful, or as thoughtful as a giant red lobster can get. "I have heard of this place. It is perpetually cold and has angry polar bears! I trust you will pack accordingly and take a friend with you. This is interesting though, you can see if there are any Scoundrels up there, and get lots of photos while you're at it! And what is a 'passport'? We certainly did not need one! "

    Scratch spread out the documents she'd made copies of. "It's something that proves you were born in the United States, so they know you belong here when you come back from wherever you're going.  But it may take a while to get; that's why I am putting in for one now. And I don't think Canada is cold all the time. But I bet it gets colder in the winter than we are! I'm kind of nervous to be honest. This place we're going is a fairly large city. It's a good thing I'm taking a friend with me who is okay driving in large cities! I'd have a nervous breakdown if I tried it. You'd have to go a lot further north for the polar bears, though. Fortunately."

    Mort squinted at the map on Scratch's computer. His eyes were getting older, he reflected. But dragons can't wear glasses. Do they make contact lenses for dragons? He peered closer at the screen. "That DOES look like a large place! It looks larger even than the city you went to pick up your little one from! I am glad your friend can take you. But won't all the people make you nervous, too?"

    Scratch looked thoughtful. "It's possible, but I have gotten a little better at being around other people. Having a friend with me helps a lot, too. " 

    "Not to mention having a job where you HAVE to talk to strangers every day!" laughed Mort from his dragon-basket. 

    "So when do you go for the passport?" asked Indigo. "I imagine you'll want to get it done fairly soon, now that you have all the pieces together."

    "Monday morning!" said Scratch. 

    "Good luck!" said Louis. "I hear government stuff involves a lot of...red tape? Red is a good color," the lobster reflected, "but not if they tape you up!" 🦞

New year, New adventures

 Louis picked up the noisemaker. It was red, just like him! He gave a cautious blow into the plastic mouthpiece and the paper tube let out a pweeet noise. 

"This is fun!" said the giant stuffed lobster. "We used to celebrate the incoming year when we were a little spawn. Of course, it sounded a lot different underwater! Do you have any new years' resolutions, Scratch?"

Scratch thought a moment. "Usually I make the same one every year. To not make any resolutions!" Mort gave a dragon-belly laugh from his basket in the corner. "That's a good one, and easy to keep," said the little green dragon. "Mine is to collect more shiny things! This should be easy to do too, since you got me a larger basket!" 

Indigo looked up from the book she was reading. "My resolution is to travel more! With a little help, of course!" she blushed a purplish pink as Scratch nodded. "I hope to replace my little bag, and then I can take you with me when I go places! Maybe not to work, though. You'd be sneezing at all the dirt!" Indigo giggled. "I doubt your boss would like you bringing me, anyway." 

Dakota the porcupine shuffled in from the kitchen.  "So when are we going to sail again? The King here has been regaling my little ears with your many adventures! It sounds exciting." 

Scratch looked out the window at the snow falling outside. "It will be soon, certainly. But maybe not when the ground has snow on it. But soon! Reese is supervising the repairs to my little ship. It should be returned to me soon."

Louis looked smug. "We have just remembered a couple of things! Scratch, our scholar, has completed her training! Also, her birthday is in a few days! "

The other mates cheered. "This calls for a celebration!" said Mort. 

Finish line is in sight!

 

Me and my snuggly basket.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

As I lay in my basket, the times have come and gone. Scratch is *almost* done with her schooling, she expects to be done in about a month. All the shipmates here are excited for her. But what then?
Her roommate and friends have been very supportive and I suspect she will stick around for a while.

Thanksgiving isn’t too far off, either. Just a couple of weeks. Scratch is planning on taking a little trip to visit some friends in the eastern part of the state. Then it will be time to break out the Christmas stuff! I can’t wait.

Personally, I’m getting restless. You know how us dragons are. At present, our ship is docked in port, ready whenever she is. Indigo wants to be moving, too; she plans on sneaking into Scratch's car soon, to see eastern lands, as she puts it. I think she's just curious about where Scratch goes when she visits. 

Scratch turns 50 next January. It’s amazing how time flies. 

South Dakota has been a good change for her, I think. Louis seems to think so, too. The lobster king watches her pull out of the garage in the mornings, heading to class. 

Our updates have been few and far between, but we haven't given up; we've just been busy keeping on keeping on... we know you all have too. Life seems to happen when you least expect it. Like Scratch's little one. They actually graduated this past August! Scratch is trying to persuade them to come west. But you know how the young are; they have to live their own lives, make their own mistakes.  

Hopefully, when this whole school business is over with, Scratch will have more time to take us on adventures, and more time to take photos of everything. 

In the mean time, keep your drifters driftin' and your sails sailin'!

Toodles,
Mort

A trip in the making

 Indigo bounced on the newly made bed. "Wheee!" She squeaked. "I was getting bored. When will it be warm enough to go on trips again?"

Mort looked thoughtful from his basket. " You never can tell here. It's a lot colder than where Scratch is from. It never really gets cold down there; and even now that it's mid February it's like in the 50s and 60s during the day! Almost spring. Too warm really, for my taste. " 

Indigo stopped bouncing. " You mean Scratch is from somewhere else? I wish I could go see it! " 

" You can, if you're willing to wait a little longer", said Scratch, who had come in in the meantime.   " I plan on visiting there in a few weeks. I'm going to see some friends and family and grab some stuff my sister is keeping for me. "

" You are? That is AWESOME! " said Mort excitedly. He bounced off his basket and on to the bed with Indigo. 

"Do you want to come too?" Asked Scratch. 

Mort paused in his bouncing. " Me? Nah. I'm lazy. Besides, I think it's time to 'pass the torch' so to speak. But you gotta take lots of pictures, okay? " 

" I think that can be arranged. " 

Festivals and Fun

 Indigo popped from Scratch's basket. "wheee! That was so much fun!"

Mort hopped from his basket, where he'd been taking a nap. "Was it? How did it go?"  

"I think Indigo was a big hit! Lots of folks commented on her little face peeking out of my basket", said scratch. "They liked your hat, too!" piped up Indigo. 

"And what's this? A MUG!" Grinned Mort. 

"It's from the local brewery! Neat huh? You could get beer in it, too, but scratch said she'd break it in later with some mead!" 

"Sounds like you two had fun," said Mort. "And no sunburns this time!" 

"Oh? That's almost a shame," said Louis. "We thought she looked quite fetching last year, beet red!" 

"That's okay for lobsters. Not so great for us humans!" Grinned scratch. 

"Well. I'm glad to see you two are making appearances. I remember tagging along in my younger years..... Not so much into the traveling thing anymore. Good for you!" 

Easter greetings

 Scratch unplugged the hot glue gun and studied her handiwork. With a satisfied "hmph", she packed the craft supplies back in their plastic box. Just then, Mort and Indigo wandered in. Mort was unwrapping a mini Snickers bar he'd snuck from the basket of candy. Scratch was always bringing home candy it seemed like. 

Indigo noticed the hat first. "Oh! How lovely! Is that why you bought flowers from the dollar store?"

Scratch grinned. 

Louis picked up the hat and put it on. "This is something else! We cannot wait to see you in it next month!" 

Mort gave a sly smile and nudged Indigo with a scaly wing. "That reminds me. Indigo wanted to ask you something..." The little blue dragon blushed. Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of purple. "Erm. Could..... could I go with you? To the ren faire, I mean. " 

"I would love the company!" Exclaimed Scratch. "I need to find a basket to carry around, you can guard my stuff in the basket!" 

Indigo gave an excited squeak. "I can't wait!"

"First, we need to get through Easter though," said Dakota. He squinted at Mort, who was sneaking another piece of candy. Mort looked suitably sheepish, while chewing.....

Hoppy Easter, from the crew of the HMS Darwin's Revenge!

Robster Craws

 Dakota's ears perked up as the front door opened. "She's home!" 

Scratch paused to remove her shoes, and then thump-thumped up the stairs. She flopped on to her bed, face down and wiggled her feet. "Ahhhh! That's much better. Glad to be home finally. So tired of people!"

Louis stared at Scratch's feet. "What on earth do you have on your feet? Are those--?"

Scratch giggled. "LOBSTER socks!"

"Seriously?" grinned Mort. "I knew you had ones with hot sauce and hot peppers. And foxes. But LOBSTERS? That is too funny."

Louis sighed. "I wish I had feet."

Indigo patted the giant stuffed lobster with a scaled paw. "That's okay. You have big claws. That's quite something for lobsters. "

What's in a name?

 Dakota studied the small blue dragon for a moment.  "I guess it would help if we knew a little more about you."

Louis grinned. "if you were a boy, we could call you 'Wally', after where scratch found you. "

"Well," said Mort, "tell us a little bit about yourself."

The blue dragon thought for a minute. "Let's see. I like to travel. I don't collect shiny things. I'm left-pawed. I like to eat. I'm not a great flyer. I've been described as a 'free spirit'. "

"Aquamarine?" Suggested Louis. 

"Too fancy. I'm more of a 'dragon next door' kinda gal. "

"Blueberry!" Chuckled Dakota. 

"How about Indigo?" Mort wiggled his eyebrows. 

The little blue dragon clapped her paws in delight. "Indigo! What a lovely name."

Scratch poked her head in. "I'm going for a walk. Anyone care to join me?"

"Oh! Me! Me!" Said Indigo. She climbed into Scratch's bag. "All ready to go!"

New surprises

 Dakota sniffed at the small can on scratch's bed. "What is in here?" 

Mort hopped from his basket and shuffled in for a closer look. "Dear lord, where did you find that? I thought we'd never find those again!"

"Eh? What's going on?" Asked Louis. "What did Scratch bring home from Blue Star?" 

"BOILED PEANUTS!!!" 

"I thought that was a southern thing," said Dakota. 

"It is! Err.. I thought it was." said Mort. 

"Well, this IS Blue Star," said Louis. "They have all sorts of things, things you wouldn't expect to see. Now, if only Scratch would remember to bring oyster crackers," he mused.

"Nevermind," said Mort. "I'll share my cheez-its with you!"

"Erm... Excuse me..." said a shy, quiet voice from inside the bag. 

Dakota poked the plastic with a spiked toe. "Who goes there?" he challenged.

"Ouch. Please! I'm only a lil gal. Help! I'm stuck!"

Mort nosed the bag open. "Oh, hello there little lady. And who might you be? Another dragon! Nice to meet you! I'm Mort, and pricklypaws over there is Dakota. And the giant red thing--"

"We are a LOBSTER and a KING!" broke in Louis from his corner-basket.

Mort grinned. "That's King Louis LXIX, late of Lobsteronia. And you are--?"

The small blue dragon looked sad. "I don't really have a name," she said. "I've been sitting on the shelf, till your human put me in her shopping basket."

Louis looked thoughtful. "Maybe we can figure out a name for you," he said. 

The little dragon brightened up. "Can you? That'd be grand!"

"At any rate, welcome aboard! We'll find a good name for you," said Mort. "I'll  'take you under my wing',  if you'll pardon the pun."  Dakota giggled, and Louis let out a groan. 

The little dragon blushed. "Thank you."

Snack Foods

Mort sniffed suspiciously at the pink, round bits of plastic. " And  you say these are worth money? They look a bit....fake." He took a cautious nibble on one. "And I don't know why they call 'em 'chips'. They sure don't TASTE like a snack food. Blargh." 

"Sort of," said Scratch. "You give your money to someone in exchange for these. They represent money. I guess it makes it easier to handle when you're playing poker or blackjack. Someone gave these to me as a 'tip', I guess they thought I was working hard enough to get a little extra. It's nice, and I appreciate the thought, but I agree, paper money is better. I would have to go exchange these for money if I wanted to use it."

"Sounds like a pain in the ass," snorted the little stuffed dragon. " But thank you for all the little bits of shiny stuff you've brought home for me. Don't get in trouble, though."

"I won't," promised Scratch. "If it looks expensive I turn it in. I just bring home the bits that no one would bother going back to claim. "

"Are you going to turn in the chips for money?" asked Louis. 

"I may."

"Well, you know what they say," said Mort. "When the chips are down...SWITCH TO CHEEZ-ITS!"

New Port

Several months ago, Louis strapped himself into the front seat of Scratch's car, and held onto the small basket that contained the plant cuttings. Behind the seat were boxes and plastic tubs full of what Scratch couldn't bear to leave behind. Literally half her stuff remained at her sister's house, and Dent was hanging on to most of the dishes and other kitchenware.

Herb the sloth had already been left with Scratch's little one; his stint on the HMS Darwin had come to an end, and was now enjoying hanging out in Nashland.

..........now, at the beginning of 2020, Louis LXIX, Deposed king of Lobsteronia, sat perched on the back corner of Scratch's bed, and watched the snow outside the window. It was difficult to believe the extremes of weather he had witnessed in those couple of months. Down south, the heat was usually only matched by the humidity. Now, more than 1600 miles away, it was cold. VERY cold. It reminded him of home. He pondered, not for the first time, about his homeland so far away. He wondered if it had been in the north Atlantic Ocean. It was so long ago he had been scooped up by a fishing net and stuffed into a box as a little spawn. He was far away from the ocean now, but the cold remained.

Mort yawned from his basket perched atop the bookcase. Scratch had got one of those put-it-together-yourself kind of kits from Yellow Star. He hoped Scratch would bring home some Cheez-its. If they even had those here. Scratch herself was somewhat saddened to find there were no boiled peanuts here. "It's a southern thing, I think," she said.

Dakota seemed right at home. He grinned a prickly-smile and trundled about the room.





Coming soon! The NEW adventures of the HMS Darwin's Revenge!

Santa Sloth

Herb snuggled under the soft blanket. "This is awesome!", he said. "I'm the Santa this year! Santa Sloth! Yeah!!"

From the other side of the tree, Louis spoke up. "A Christmas Sloth. That is a new thing to Us. But We are glad to not be doing it this year. We found human-cubs don't respond to crustaceans in hats.  We guess We're not what they think of when the word 'cuddly' comes to mind..."

"Aww, that's not true!" said Herb. "You made an AWESOME Santa last year. And the Santa 'claws' puns made the adults laugh, too."

Scratch peeked under the tree at the two holiday critters. "Yup, you two are really something. Got that holiday spirit down don't we? Are you going to make cookies this year, Louis? Those were good."

"Yes!" squeaked Herb. "pleeeeease? You're much better in the cooking department than I am. My silly claws catch on things." He frowned a little. "Last time I tried to cook, I knocked off a pot of water and almost burned myself."

The giant lobster considered. "We do seem to know my way around a kitchen, don't We? Not as food, that is." He grinned a big lobster smile and adjusted his reindeer antlers. "It's too bad these don't light up, We could give you such a show!"

Scratch laughed. "Watching you cook is more than enough any time of year. Just let me know when you want to do it, and we'll set it up."

From Scratch's room, Mort the dragon piped up "And let ME know so I can come gobble stuff up!"

"Oh Moooort", sang Louis. "we found the mistletoooooeeee!"

"Bother", said Mort.

Merry Christmas, from the crew of the Darwin's Revenge!

Summertime Blues

The oversized Lobster peeked through the blinds. "Oh, pooh," he said. "It is raining once again! All this humidity is making Our shell curl."

"Cheer up, dude," chimed in Mort from the TV stand. At least you don't have to worry about your fire being put out, like I do. And I thought you liked water. Aren't you from the ocean or something?"

"Water is fine. We used to swim quite a lot in Our younger days. But humidity is quite another matter. It gets trapped under Our shell. If We aren't careful, Our claws will mold and our antenna may rot off! We had a cousin who didn't take care of her shell, and bad things happened...." Louis shuddered, shell clacking at the joints.

"All this rain is just like home for me," said Herb. "It rains pretty much every day there, and not just part of the year. It's warm all year, so every day is like this, almost!"

Mort grinned, and hopped from his basket. Good smells were coming from the kitchen, and he wanted to be there when whatever-it-was came out of the oven. "Come on, guys! I think our Cook is making a cake! Or something!"

In the kitchen, Scratch was studying the bunches of herbs she had hung up that morning. She smiled at the little green dragon, cautiously poking his snout around the doorframe. "Yes, you can come investigate. It isn't done yet though."

"When can We help you make cookies again?" asked Louis. "We miss helping you in the kitchen."

"We could probably do it next week," suggested Scratch. "Dent is off work and will be home all week, and we'll all need things to do to keep from driving each other crazy."

"Crazier than we do already?" grinned Herb.

"Absolutely!" said Scratch.

"We will be glad for things to do," said Louis. "We are running out of books to read!"

Snow Lobsters, Ice dragons, and frosty sloths.

Herb scuffed his feet in the snow. His furry feet felt awkward in Scratch's snow boots. And her gloves didn't fit properly on his paws. The claws were too long. "Us sloths aren't meant for this snow stuff," he grumbled.

Mort was having a grand old time. "Look!" He rolled over in the snow, tiny green feet waving in the air. "You've heard of snow angels? How's about some SNOW DRAGONS!"

From the front door, Louis squinted at the bright sunshine glinting off the snow.  "We know! Let's build a snow Lobster!" Herb laughed and began rolling up the snow into a large, cold white ball.

Scratch made a snow ball and lobbed it playfully at the Lobster. Louis ducked behind the glass door and the snow slid harmlessly off. Louis grinned, and disappeared from view for a few minutes, to return a short time later with an old hat of Scratch's. "Mort! Can you find us some twigs for arms?"

Mort sat up, blowing snow out of his nose. "Arms? Why would you need those?"

"It doesn't look much like a lobster," Herb mused.

"Never mind. We like it anyway!" declared Louis.

Bugs!

Mort poked suspiciously at the insect hanging head-down on the hot pepper plant. "Scratch! You've got bugs! Can I smoosh it?" Scratch peered through the green leaves. "Nah, that's a good bug....he eats other bugs...."

Mort looked confused. "I thought all bugs ate plants."

Scratch wiggled the plant. Hot peppers, green turning to yellow, jiggled as the praying mantis turned and fixed beady eyes on her. "Not this one. It's a praying mantis."

Herb ambled over to the Bucketgarden. "So....that's a praying mantis.." he mused.

It was Scratch's turn to look puzzled. "You've never seen one? Do you not have these back home?"

Herb grinned. "I'm sure we do. But I never bothered to look. Too lazy." he reached out a cautious claw. "Careful," Scratch warned. "They bite! See those jaws on the head?"

From under the shade house, Louis called, "We were just reading about these. They eat all sorts of nasty bugs and keep them out of the garden. Wonderful creatures, they are."

Mort pouted. "Ladybugs are prettier."

"We have a few of those flying around, too..." Scratch said, amused.

Uno!

Mort yawned. Those winter-time feelings were back, when nothing new happened for weeks on end. He was restless just as Scratch was, waiting on the final warm-up, when windows could be opened if only for a little while, and new green things would appear on the earth.

But for now, cold and frozen waiting.

The little green dragon's ears perked up. There were voices coming from the kitchen. One was obviously King Louis'. But the other was not. Mort was unfamiliar with it. It wasn't Scratch's voice, nor Dent's.

Mort gave a wiggle from his basket and landed on the floor with a soft plumft. He crept to the doorway and poked his head round. Seated at the kitchen table were two figures. One was the bright red Mort recognized as the giant Lobster. The other, however, was a shaggy brown.

There was a flip of paper, and the shaggy brown one said, "green?"

"Go fish." Said Louis.

"Nonono," said Shaggy Brown. "You put down either a green card, or one with the same number."

"Oh." There was a pause. Then: "I don't have either one."

"Then you take a card off the deck and that's your turn."

Mort moseyed across the linoleum, ostensibly to look in the food-closet for Cheez-its, should the question come up. The shaggy brown one looked up. "Oh. Hullo there. Uhm,  Sire, you didn't tell me you had a dragon for a ship-mate."

Louis looked round at the little dragon. "Oh. Sorry. I forgot you were here."

Mort extended a paw. "Howdy. I'm Mort."  He winked at Louis. "Chief treasurer here on the Darwin's Revenge. And you are--? "

The shaggy brown thing smiled and caught up the paw with a curved, clawed hand. "I'm Herbert. Or Herb. I go by either. I'm a sloth," he added before Mort could ask.

"Herb here was just showing Us how to play a card-game from his native land. He'll be staying with Us for a while. We haven't settled on a function yet."

"Function?" asked Mort.

"Yes, you know. What sort of job I can do here," said the giant sloth. "You're the treasurer and Scratch is the Cook. And Dent is the fixer-upper. But what do I do?"

"You've got some claws on. Maybe security? I'm too small to do much more than trip people and give them a 'hot foot'," replied Mort.

The Lobster-king looked thoughtful.  "Maybe. You wouldn't hurt a fly. But evil-doers wouldn't need to know that. Those claws do look a bit intimidating."

"It's a bird, it's a plane. It's SUPERSLOTH!" Mort grinned. Herb grinned, too.

Renaissance Faire!

Scratch wriggled through the split mesh curtain that served as a screen door. She carried her wings in one hand and had her keys in the other. Dent followed shortly after, with several small paper bags.

Mort sat calmly on the kitchen table, chewing on the last of the Halloween candy. "How'd it go?" he asked through a snoutful of candy corn. Intent on his snack, he didn't look up.
"Better than I thought it would," said Scratch. "I had fewer people run into my wings than I thought there would be, and the mugs look pretty good this year."

Dent dug through one of the paper bags and pulled out the mug. It was dark, almost black, with reddish speckles around the rim. The design had a jester dancing on the front. "I got a shot glass," said Dent, pulling it out of the bag as well.

"Like the one from 2008 better," sighed Mort, shaking his scaly green head sadly.

"Because it was bigger and had a dragon on the front!" grinned Scratch. She leaned close to the small beast, who was busily unwrapping a 'fun size' Butterfinger. "Notice anything?"

Mort finally looked up--and did a double take. "Great gravy!" he snorted. "What in Lobsteronia did you do to your ears?! And Dent, too!"
"We sprouted new ones. And they're a pain in the ass to wear while driving a car, by the way. Turn your head the wrong way and you hit the back of the seat...."
Mort giggled. "Well. It looks like you had fun this go round. And another season over...."

The Journey

The ship rocked gently on the becalmed sea. Unceasing sunshine made days a bit too hot for Louis. "I miss Lobsteronia," he sighed. "It was hot during the summer, but never THIS hot." He plumped back down in his throne-basket, bag of munchies in one hand, TV remote in the other.

Scratch came and sat next to the giant lobster king. "Do you think Lobsteronia was maybe a bit further north?" she asked
.
"It's possible," Louis admitted. "It was a lot colder during the winter than it is here. I don't remember much, but I do seem to remember that much..."

"Perhaps we should set sail and head to more northerly climates," Scratch suggested. "the fish have gotten scarce in this neighborhood. Not that I eat the stuff, but I know you like them. "

"Do you mean it? Can we travel someplace new?" Louis wriggled excitedly.

Scratch thought a moment. "It may involve leaving Dent behind though. And it may take time to get where we're going. And it may involve joining a crew on another ship once we get there. Do you think you can handle all that?"

Louis stroked his chin with an oversized floppy claw. "Those things ARE scary to contemplate, aren't they? I don't know--it would take some thinking, certainly. But changes are always scary ones, even ones that may turn out for the best. Who can say? Sometimes you just have to dive in and see what's under the surface."

"--And hope you don't drown..." mused Scratch.

Mort the dragon waddled in. "I come for your crunchy gold squares of cheese, woman." He grinned. He noted Louis' and Scratch's serious expressions and the smile faded. "What? are they on strike at the cracker factory? What's up?"

"Scratch and I are discussing pulling anchor, or at least joining another ship. There isn't much here for her to do...although she hasn't let me in on what she'd be doing at the other place", said Louis.

"Scholar. I'd be going back to school." Scratch grinned.

"Oh," said Mort. He sat back on his haunches and looked at the cook and the lobster. "Can I come too?"

"Well, YEAH," said Scratch. "You don't think I'd leave you to your own devices, do you? You'd have the cracker factory knocked off before I could say 'Cheez-it'. "

"Hurrah!" cheered the little dragon. He did an excited backflip and landed on his head. "Ouch."
Scratch picked up the little dragon and rubbed his head. "And you never know, they may have shiny stuff there, too, to put in your basket."

"BONUS!" snorted Mort. "Always a plus. When do we start?"

"Preparations are underway. May take a while though," said Scratch.

"I can be patient. As long as I have my cheese crackers, I'm content......" Mort bounced on to the floor and nosed the pantry door open. "Just say the word, my dear Scratch, and I'll help ya pack."

"I, too", said the lobster. "At least the packing part. Don't know about the cheese crackers. Unless they're 'goldfish' ones." The King smiled.

Autumn leaves

Louis hefted the rake in one oversized floppy claw. "Pray, can you tell me why we are raking leaves at this moment, when there are more yet to fall?" He looked suspiciously at the surrounding trees, many of which were still turning different colors. As he watched, several loose leaves fell down in the spot where he'd finished raking--just finished!

"To keep you out of trouble," Scratch replied. She had the other rake, and was busily moving small piles of leaves on to a tarp, the little piles merging into bigger ones.

"I? Trouble?" sputtered the giant lobster. Grumbling, he started raking again. A sudden noise made him duck as Mort dive-bombed the pile of leaves. "GANGWAY!" snorted the little green dragon. Louis waved the rake in Mort's direction. "Cut it out, or she'll make you rake, too...."

"I don't see why I can't just burn them," said the dragon.

"Uhm, because I don't feel like putting out a raging forest fire at the moment?" suggested Scratch. She'd finished that particular pile and was dragging the tarp towards the edge of the woods. "Remember, it's still pretty dry out here.."

"Even after all that rain?" asked Mort.

"Even so," agreed Louis.

Mort wiggled impatiently in his leaf-pile. "I can't wait till winter!"

"Speak for yourself," said Louis. "Now, if you don't mind?"

Mort wandered through the pampas grass and studied the front of the house. "How are we doing the Christmas lights this year?" he asked Scratch, who was dragging the tarp back for another load of leaves. "geez," said Scratch. "Let's get Halloween over with, first!"

A good lesson for the stores out there, who've already put out the Christmas decor....

Goldfish

Louis picked up the TV remote in one claw. JTV was no longer on the air (they were bad about changing the free over-the-air digital channels), but there was a new channel on now, one that replayed old game shows. Scratch had to explain what some of them were, and who some of the people were. "Some of these shows are older'n me," she said. Louis refrained from commenting on how old that may have been, indeed.

He was looking forward to Scratch's little one paying a visit, even though she did pick on him a little (he supposed he looked a bit "goofy" to a human, although he was considered handsome among Lobsters!) 

He poked a claw into the bag of Goldfish crackers. Scratch had got him started on those. "But they don't taste like fish," he said. This puzzled him a little.  "Yeah? Those oyster crackers you like don't taste like oysters, either!" she'd said, and he had to concede the point.