Happy Birthday, Becky!
August 24, 2023 by Katelyn -
Sending our thanks to our second sponsor of the day, Tobin, who sends her friend, Becky, happy birthday wishes and the chimpanzees and bovine happy sanctuary wishes.
“In honor of her (annual) 25th birthday, I am sponsoring this day of sanctuary for Rebecca Babcock. Rarely does one of our telephone conversations transpire in which we do not chat at length about the chimpanzees who occupy Young’s Hill and/or The Bray or bloviate about their bovine neighbors in their pastures. If that isn’t enough, we fantasize aloud in our fan-fiction about a small imaginary village “located” in the realm of Queen Negra The Great.
Though this all-chimpanzee settlement is just one occupant shy of reaching two digits in population, both the village’s produce grocery and library are amply stocked with all manner of mangoes, mulberries, and magazines. The grooming shop on the village green does a steady business, and the village mayor (Mave, of course) maintains the domestic tranquility. Past the trees which surround the village (so better as to not disturb the town librarian), four dedicated bovines attend to lawn maintenance activities in the pasture that surrounds the hamlet.
And, just across the county line (Parke County, to be exact), one finds the campus of the Human Sanctuary Northwest. Through the Royal Largesse of The Queen, and under the scrupulous supervision of Jamie Chimpanzee, the rescued human primates of the sanctuary receive room and board and proper footwear.
All of this make-believe is quite an undertaking for so young a 25-year-old. Nonetheless, I am grateful to have Becky as a partner in our story-telling. Thus, I wish her a happy birthday, and I trust that she will enjoy the grooming makeover which Mave and the other ladies of her social circle have in store for her today (in the realm of the imaginary, of course).
Jamie:
Dora and Mave:
The bovine family: Honey, Meredith, Betsy and Nutmeg:
Beautiful Negra:
14 Comments
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Imaginary? Sounds like a real place to me! Nicely written.
Correct me if I am wrong, but is that a POND in the bovine photo? If so, (unless it’s imaginary!) why did I not know it existed on the property? If I am seeing correctly, is it perpetural or vernal? Can the cattle approach it for a drink on a hot summer day?
There is a fine line between fact and fantasy, and I think that we keep our story-telling fairly tethered to the latter. After all, the Boss-for-Life of the Human Sanctuary Northwest is known to send forth volleys of a certain organic substance when she (and she is “SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED”) is displeased. There is indeed a Parke County on the map where, as I have stated elsewhere, there are human primates who possess a remarkable resemblance to the Recreation Director of the HSNW.
Hi Mark,
The pond in the cattle’s summer pasture is perpetual, though it freezes over in winter. It’s one of a couple on the property. They do not have access to it as the pond’s borders are quite muddy and uneven and we don’t want to risk them getting stuck. Here’s a brief glimpse of it in J.B.’s annual “Running of the Cows (and one Steer)” videos from last year. The cattle do have access to the small stream that runs through the property though, which they can often be found enjoying.
Katelyn: Thanks for the response and the link. So lush in June. And such an expansive piece of land with the most recent additions (I guess not so recent now)! The stream must indeed be inviting to the bovines.
happy Birthday, Becky and many more ’25’s. Thank you Tobin for a great fantasy kingdom story in honor of your friend.
Oh my !!!! Thank You, Tobin and all who helped select the photographs for this remembrance. There’s nothing I look forward to each year more, than celebrating my 25th birthday at play ( in my mind) with the Ladies Who Groom, Ladies Who Forage and Ladies Who Graze.The two shots of Mora made me “hoot-out-loud.” Not far from my home on the South Texas coast is an inlet named by early explorers as the Harbor of Refuge. To All who provide such a good home for the chimipanzees and cows of CSNW, you don’t create enrichment, you Are enrichment. My deepest respect and appreciation to you all for being a Harbor of Refuge for the animals who abide there. Much Love- Becky (age 25)
Becky, best wishes on your recurring 25th birthday. Tobin, I would love to see you and Becky expand the story of the ‘small imaginary village’, perhaps in the form of a book…a best seller for sure. Thank you for sponsoring a day of sanctuary in honor of Becky.
Happy 25th birthday to you, Becky. Yes, 25 is a good year! And to Tobin, I think both Jamie and Cy would love a book about your small imaginary village “located” in the realm of Queen Negra The Great. However, Cy’s copy cannot include photos of the bovine landscapers!
Thanks for chuckles and for sponsoring a day for our dear friends.
violation A book for Cy with bovine imagery? Oh, perish the thought! In our recent edition of our oral fan-fiction, I mentioned that a village meeting was called and the village librarian (he also doubles as the village clerk) raised a ruckus about a book with cows that shown up at the library. The proprietor of the Bronx Cheer Grooming Parlor offered to take the offending material off of his hands, but then Cy further complained that tearing pages of cattle photographs is a violation of some arcane village ordinance.
.
Happy 25th :birthday: Rebecca!
What a lovely friendship you have with Tobin! And what a fab imagination you both have :grin::joy::rofl:
PS I used to celebrate my grandmothers 27th every year (until she passed at 97).
Regarding Kathleen’s wise suggestion to not include pictures of cattle in a book for Cy, may I add that, as goes my exercise in fan-fiction with today’s birthday celebrant, that our imaginary all-chimpanzee village (population: 9) is governed (at most) by the New England Town Meeting system. Most monthly meetings in the Chimpanzee village are placid and perfunctory affairs, which usually last for a few minutes or until night-bags are dispensed (whichever occurs first). The last controversy of note occured late last Spring, when the village garden hose disappeared only to later be found in multiple pieces near the Cubby Hole residence of Ms. H.B. Chimpanzee, a life-long resident of the village.
YES:grin:..perhaps a Picture Book….We’ll get Jamie’s opinion….I understand she owns All Publishing Rights in the village as well:wink:….Happy 25th Rebecca :cake::coffee::shushing_face:
And Editor in Chief. She IS, after all, The Boss of Everything
Becky, I hope your 25th is/was as good as the one before it! 😉
Thank you, Tobin!