SCARECROWS

HMC hosted their first Build-A-Scarecrow fall activity to great success. Led by Dee Hilbert with assistance from Sally Thomphsen & Linda Hicks, our new straw friends came to life with a little hay, some pumpkins, balloons, sticks and old clothes. Each found a new home to spread fall tidings and greet new friends.

A shout out and thank you to Trader Joe's in Park Ridge who provided fresh picked apples and protein bars. #traderjoes #4ourchildren #4ourfuture #hmc

Joan Miltor led story time and together a short story was created. What a wonderful day. Memories in the making among the old growth trees nestled along the Des Plaines River.

MEET DILLON-BOB

by Joan Molitor and friends

Once upon a time there was a scarecrow standing straight and tall in a newly plowed field. His name was Dillon-Bob. He knew he had a job to do and that was to keep black birds away from the newly planted corn seeds Mr. Farmer had put into the ground.

Mrs. Farmer had given Dillon-Bob new clothes, a sweat shirt and jeans. And they were very very itchy. Mrs. Farmer had told him that they would get softer and tattered because of rain and wind and he was very happy to hear that. (You all know how itchy a label in new clothes can be and you squirm until that label is removed).

All day Dillon-Bob would frown and flap his arms to keep the black birds away from the seeds. But at night, under the moon and stars, he would smile softly to himself and dream he was someone else.

One night he would pretend he was a farmer. Another night he would pretend he was a truck driver. And still another night he would think he was a cowboy, but then he laughed to himself, “horses eat straw, so that’s not a good idea.”

Soon the leaves of the trees in the nearby forest turned to beautiful colors; red, and yellow and a golden brown. Eventually the leaves would fall from the branches floating gently to the ground, leaving dark branches outlined against the sky.

Mr. Farmer had harvested all the crops in the fields and Dillon-Bob stood in a barren field. One day it turned very cold and a snowflake landed on his nose. “Oh, brrrrr, he thought,...”winter is coming and it will get even colder.” As he was thinking about this he saw Mr. Farmer trudging across the field...Mr. Farmer stood in from of Dillon-Bob and said “You have done a wonderful job keeping my crops safe and now with winter coming I am going to put you in my warm barn for the winter. You will like it there and you will meet a lot of friends there. You will meet Miss Cow, Mr. Goat, Mr. Rooster, Miss Cat, who keeps the mice away.”

Dillon-Bob was so pleased with Mr. Farmer’s kind words and the prospect of meeting new friends, that he thought to himself “Perhaps it is best to just be who I am and not pretend to be someone else” and he was happy.