Chapter 4
Lefcardia looked around her home with satisfaction. It was a grand space for a squirrel. Lefcardia had stripped her nest down to its bare walls, keeping only her water jug which was suspended above the nest, and her supply of acorns, which was covered neatly by planks of wood. How efficient to build one divider and create a ceiling for the acorns and a floor for me, she thought.
She opened her journal to a clean page and made a list.
Things I Need in a Nest. A bed table for my journal and drawing supplies. A bed. A table with a chair to eat, draw or write. Place to keep acorns (already done). Container for saving rainwater (already done).
Then she thought about tea. She needed a cupboard to keep camomile flowers, rings of lemon grass and dried mint leaves. Pine needle tea was very good, and could always be gotten fresh. Still, Lefcardia liked to keep a selection of fine tea in her nest.
And there was the amplifier. Lefcardia had a glass disc, which might be called a magnifying glass. She found that when she placed it in a sunny window, it made a bright spot hot enough to start a fire. In fact, before Lefcardia learned how to control the hot spot, she had a few accidents. Fortunately, her fur grew back. Now, she was very very careful.
Lefcardia had never stopped to consider how much space was was needed for a good cup of tea. There was space for her pot and cups, a place to sit and sip, space for the amplifier, for the dried herbs, and the sink and water faucet. Tea might require a lot of space, but a good cup of tea was well worth the effort.
She liked a rug by her bed, so when she stepped out of bed in the morning, her feet would not be cold. She liked a picture on the wall by her table and chair, and another picture on the wall by the sink.
There. Her list was complete. Since she had no table, she sat down on the floor and began to draw her plan.
The hardest part of building, is making the plan
Think, think, think, as hard as you can
Knowing what you need
Is very hard indeed
But once you know your goal, the job is well in hand
Lefcardia February 1