Dear Hittygirls:

I arrived at Brushtail Manor on Tuesday morning for the final leg of my world tour. I would have arrived Monday, had not the mailman chosen an inconvenient time to attempt my delivery. Alas, Laurie was in the shower, and the Hittys were unable to get the door opened in time to catch the mailman before he left. As a result I spent an extra day in transit, in the Bordentown Post Office.

I was extricated from my Postal Ordeal the next morning, and Hittys Penny, India, and Kristen-Elyse plied me with tea and delicious cakes as I recounted some of my journeys for them. After a good night's sleep, we spent a quiet day inside as Wednesday dawned and stayed quite rainy. I told them more of my travels, and the Hittys seemed especially interested in my trip to England, as they may be travelling there themselves later this year. We then sat and watched Bitty Precious and Bitty Susannah play as the rain fell outside. In all, it was a pleasant day of recovery from my travels.

A nice cup of tea.

Playing with the Bittys.

Today we are planning a trip to a farm! My hostess Laurie owns a horse, and keeps her nearby. I have also been told that there are sheep and lambs, and even a baby donkey! I have never seen a donkey before, and though I am concerned that even the baby donkey may be too large for me to ride, I am excited at the prospect of meeting her and the other animals. I will let you know how the visit goes.

Laurie asks me to let you know that she will be posting photos shortly. She is recovering from recent shoulder surgery, and must, of needs, limit her time at the computer.

Until my next post, stay well,
Hitty Pearl S. Buck

Dear Friends:

On Good Friday, as promised, Laurie took Hitty India, Hitty Kristen-Elyse, and me to Trilogy Farm, where she keeps her horse, Luna.

It was an overcast day and a bit cool, but we had a truly lovely time, and I learned a great deal. For instance, Luna is a bay Paint mare, which means that she is brown with a black mane and tail (bay) with large white patches (Paint, her breed). We even had a brief ride on Luna, who was very patient with us.

We rode sidesaddle, like true ladies, but bareback, since Laurie could not find a saddle small enough for us! It was an exciting experience, but I think next time I go riding, it will be on a horse more suited to my side -- we were a very long way from the ground!

Next we got to meet the donkeys, Miriam and Abigail. Laurie informed us that Miriam's owner purchased the donkey at an auction, to be used in her church's Nativity scene. Almost exactly one year to the day that Miriam came to live at Trilogy Farm, the owner went outside to check on her and found the newborn Abigail standing beside her. Although she had suspected that the donkey was too round to be just fat, she wasn't sure that a baby was imminent. What a lovely surprise! Miriam is very sweet and Abigail was absolutely charming! They were quite interested in me, and sniffed me very gently. I told them what lovely donkeys they were, and they seemed pleased.

We also got to see the sheep, who share a field with the donkeys. Unlike the donkeys, the sheep didn't seem terribly interested in meeting me. Still, they were quite handsome animals, and I enjoyed viewing them from afar.

After we left Trilogy Farm, we returned home and then Laurie took all of us, including Hitty Penny and the Bittys (who stayed home due to the cool weather) to another farm, one much more suited to our size. We had a wonderful time, and the Bittys especially enjoyed playing with the chickens. The sheep here were also much friendlier, and allowed us to pet them.

All in all, it was a lovely day, and we all very much enjoyed meeting the animals.

Best wishes,
Hitty Pearl S. Buck

Dear all:

I celebrated the Easter holiday with the Brushtail Hittys and we all had a lovely time. First Laurie made us new Easter hats, each one different to go with our dresses. I think we all looked quite charming, and it definitely set the tone for a lovely day.

After spending some time admiring our new millinery, we then had a very special visit to meet the Easter Bunny. Actually, as I found out, there are a number of Easter bunnies, all organized into local unions. That way egg delivery is handled in the most efficient manner, and nobody gets missed. EB, as the local union leader is called, was very nice, and took a few moments out of his hectic schedule to meet with us Hittys. He is quite a bit taller in person than I expected! I also a picture with one of his assistants. Grumpy, as he is known, is much shorter than his supervisor, and I suspect his height may have something to do with the perenially irritated look he seems to have. He was quite polite, however, and showed us around the local operation.

The Easter egg process is quite interesting, and the bunnies have it very well organized. The eggs are grown in special fields, much like pumpkins are for Halloween. There are many varieties, each having different decorative patterns, and each variety growing to a different specific size. According to our guide, growing the eggs pre-decorated has cut the production time nearly in half, and is considered a great innovation in the Easter world. As the eggs are havested, they are loaded onto special carts, which ferry them to the loading area. There the eggs are sized, checked for imperfections, and loaded into baskets. The travelling Easter bunnies then pick up their assigned loads and head off on their routes. As we were observing this process, one of the cart bunnies, on his way back from the loading area, offered me a ride. It was quite exhilarating, as the bunnies travel at quite a clip.

Once we got to the egg fields, the Bittys were allowed to gather as many eggs as they wanted. Although they would have like to take home one of the big eggs, they could only fit the little ones in their baskets. Then we spent some time playing hide-and-seek around the big eggs, being careful not to break any of them, or get in the way of any of the hardworking bunnies

.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with the Easter bunnies and headed home having worked up quite an appetite. We had a lovely dinner with Laurie and her family and friends, and as we relaxed later on, we recounted the details of our trip to the other dinner guests, who seemed as fascinated as we had been.

All in all it was a wonderful holiday.

Hitty Pearl S. Buck and the Brushtail Hittys