Free Listen To Me Honey by Fay Risner Page B

Chicago blowing off Lake Michigan.
“Jubel! That dog!”
    Jubel flattened himself by the
door, ready to escape if Art had to leave in a hurry.
    “Sure, Jubel rolls in fresh cow pies a right smart bit of
the time. He never has a problem when he goes through the stingin'
weeds,” Art said with a deadpan look.
    Amanda focused on one then the
other of her grandparents in this heated face off. Grandpa was
really in the dog house.
    Tansy sputtered as if she was a tea
kettle running out of steam. “I ---- I'm ready to eat. I've got
supper done such as it is.”
    Grandpa winked at Amanda, but he
never once grinned. He knew better.
    Tansy saw the wink as she plopped
into her chair. She stared from Art to Amanda a moment, deep in
thought. “Arthur, ya did all this on purpose so I'd defend that
child like I did Jeff.”
    “Mandie, pass me the fried potatoes,” Art said, holding out
his hand. He took a spoonful and handed the bowl to
Tansy.
    All Amanda could see good about the
nasty trick Grandpa played on her was Grandma defended her. She
knew from then on Grandma would always be on her side no matter
what.
    Grandma had to be plenty mad.
Amanda had never see her forget to say grace over a meal before. As
mad as Tansy was, Amanda was pretty sure Grandpa wouldn't play
another trick on her again any time soon.
     

Chapter Nine
     
    The next morning, Amanda dried the
dishes and put them in the cupboard. While Tansy went to the
outhouse, Amanda sat on the porch to wait for whatever was going to
happen next.
    “Mandie, do ya want to he'p me fix the pasture
fence? It's been a few days since I've checked the fence line.
Probably been a deer or two didn't make a clean jump.
    I thought when we’re done we could
mushroom huntin' in the woods next to the pasture,” called Art as
he loaded the fencing equipment into the back of Old
Blue.
    “Sure! If it's all right with Grandma,” answered
Amanda.
    Grandma called from the outhouse,
“Go with your grandpa. Sounds like more fun than here with
me.”
    Amanda raced for Old Blue and
hopped in before Grandpa changed his mind.
    The hilly hay field was greening up
and growing. Art drove around the end of the field toward the
pasture gate. The view changed to rolling hills specked with
grazing cattle and small calves partially hidden in grassy
gullies.
    A quail covey popped up at the
hayfield edge. The birds saw the pickup and scurried into the fence
row. Another covey flew up in front of the pickup and narrowly
missed getting hit.
    As Amanda looked out the window,
she thought about what Mrs. Longfellow said in Biology class after
they finished a nature course. “Class, remember if you get a chance
to walk in the woods take note of what you find. See how much of
what we’ve studied you can recognize. You’re one of the lucky ones
if you know someone with woods close by.
    Our environment is changing fast
into urban developments. If grownups don’t try harder to take care
of what we have, the only way your children will learn about many
plants and animals will be to read about them in books. Maybe if
you pay attention, you can pass on to your children what you
remember.
    There’s a saying, Stop and smell the roses. That’s what I
want you to do. Stop long enough to appreciate not only roses but
every living thing in nature. If you appreciate nature, you should
help preserve our environment for future generations.”
    Amanda remembered the teacher's
speech so well, but she lost interest by the time Mrs. Longfellow
held up the pictures and described the plants.
    Why hadn't she paid attention when
she had the chance? Truth was, school didn't mean much to her
except as a social place to see her friends. Suddenly, with a pang
of sadness, Amanda missed school, her teachers and
friends.
    “Why
are ya so quiet all of a sudden?” Art asked.
    “I was thinking about school. I had a biology
teacher named Mrs. Longfellow. She taught her class about what
nature was like in the timber and