Great things about being blind. The animals in the forest.

I went with some of my family last night to the cottage where I spent my summers all through my childhood. Being there is wonderful and peaceful and brings back great memories. This morning, as my guide dog and I sat out on the deck quite early, I heard a rustling noise in the forest. It sounded like quite a big animal. a deer perhaps. They have been known to appear there quite recently. But no! When I asked if anyone saw anything, they saw a tiny chipmunk. Now the chipmunk has a tiny little voice and is small but its rustling sounded big. Perhaps these animals rustle themselves in the forest leaves to sound larger and more imposing than they are. This isn't the first time I've thought a squirrel or a rabit or chipmunk was something considerably larger. On another note, thanks all for the wonderful comments and blogs. Keep them coming. On the topic of blogs, I have two additional blogs besides this one. One is written by me about storytelling things. The other is written by my guide dog tulia from her point of view. Here are their links. Kim Kilpatrick's storytelling blog tulia the guide dog's blog

Great things about being blind. Touching animals.

Yesterday, I mentioned being able to touch a stuffed loon at a camp site museum. It reminded me of other times when I got to touch stuffed and mounted animals. One of the most memorable times occurred when I was running day camps for kids who were blind several years ago. I contacted the museum of nature and they were willing and eager to give us a special tour, take some animals out from behind glass, and let us touch them. I was more excited than the kids I think and I loved that day and still think of it. They let us touch squirrels, chipmunks, different birds (humming birds, owls, jays for example) they let us touch a beaver, a rabit, a polar bear, moose. It was so fascinating. I never knew what the animal fur or feathers felt like. I never knew their sizes, shapes. I could hear birds flying. I could hear the humming bird humming around flowers but didn't know how little it was. I heard the sounds of owls but could never imagine their shapes. Feeling a beaver's tail helped me to realize how they use them to signal danger. It was an amazing experience from start to finish and I will never forget it.