Over my retirement days, I have focused on the joy of living. Although we have enjoyed travel joy is not inherent in travel. Life is full of small gems. Now as a younger man, I knew that my happiness would be contained in what I could acquire. It seemed that those around me took a similar quest to gather the wheat in the barn.

‘I am so excited about our bike riding adventure,’ Jane said with summer glee. ‘I can think of little else that I like more than riding around on bikes as the Wind In The Willows characters when Ratty said to Mole, ‘there is nothing absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats,’ Jane continued.

‘How about we follow Ratty’s advice and mess about in boats,’ Chet suggested. ‘We can rent a boat at Campus Lake, he said. ‘It will be a lovely day and we will pack our lunch with a little Merlot to slake our thirst,’ Chet said with a wide smile.

‘Merlot and sausages will be in the picnic basket,’ Neva J announced. ‘Scones for dessert and pudding, she added.

‘Will we mess about on bicycles another time,’ Jane asked?

‘This is great and unlike anything I have previously done,’ Billy B said with a whistle. ‘Does any of you remember the thick woods around the Lake,’ he asked?

‘Hello friends where do you hale from,’ Badger asked? ‘Will you join us for some meat pies,’ he asked?

‘Who are you speaking with,’ Mole asked Badger? ‘Come in friends…I have lost my eyeglasses,’ Mole said.

‘Your home is lovely,’ Neva J said to Badger. ‘I see that you have quite a wine collection,’ she added.

‘Mr. Mole are these your glasses, they have thick lenses like mine,’ Chet said.

‘I have a stigmatism,’ Mole said. ‘We Moles have poor eyesight, he added.

‘Ho Ho Ha Ha, who do we have here welcome to Badgers home is that your fine boat tied up at the dock,’ Mr. Toad asked? ‘We do not often receive our friends the humans in our little neck of the woods,’ Toad said.

How did we get here when we were on Campus Lake,’ Chet asked? First, we were in Campus Woods and then your Woods,’ Chet mentioned.

‘We appear when we are thought of it is a bit of magic,’ Ratty noted. ‘We are alive in your minds and hearts,’ he continued.

‘We encapsulate the joy of living…the simplicity of thought becoming wishes come true,’ Badger said as he passed the meat pie…