Orange cats, raccoons, butterflies, and salamanders. Dive into the world of animals as you write about these animals this month.
June 1-7
A small museum in rural Kentucky has said that it has had an orange tabby feline somehow sneaking into the museum each morning for quite some time just to sit and stare at one particular painting. They have captured him on film, and he just walks past the other paintings and is apparently only interested in this particular one, a bluegrass landscape painting. When he gets to his favorite painting, he will sit and stare at it. He makes no noise and doesn’t damage anything. When he’s done, he leaves.
Writing Prompts: Why did this cat visit the museum each morning? Was there something special about that one painting that called to him? Or was there a family of mice living extremely close to the painting that the humans hadn’t discovered yet?
June 8-15
The first prompt was about an orange cat, so why not a second orange cat? Orange cats are wonderful and loving. I have an outdoor cat who is orange, and Cheeto has been here for many, many years.
This particular orange tabby cat, Stubbs, lived in Alaska. In 1997, he was elected as mayor and served until his death in 2017.
Writing Prompts: Was the political climate so bad in this town that the fed-up people elected a cat to be mayor? Who was really in charge?
What if the cat could really talk and make decisions about how to lead this town? Did he do a good job? What sort of policies did he bring into being?
Did the people in this town change because of the actions of this cat?
June 16-23
Now it’s time for some raccoons, a pack of very hungry raccoons. These raccoons were so hungry that they broke into a bakery and ransacked it, eating cupcakes, donuts, cookies, and anything else that was edible they could get their little paws on. When the baker got there in the early morning hours, they were still there, and they didn’t leave.
The baker was shocked. He was even more shocked when the leader of the pack of raccoons walked over to him and began speaking.
Writing Prompts: Silly question, but why did they break into the bakery? Were they being helpful by scaring away a human thief? How did they scare him away?
What did this raccoon say to baker, and how did he respond?
Did the raccoons offer to share their stash of goodies with him?
Did the baker invite the raccoons to come see him each morning?
The baker becomes friends with these raccoons. And before long, they start bringing more friends with them until their appearance at the bakery each morning becomes a city-wide event.
June 24-30
Butterflies and salamanders. Two completely different creatures. One was in the front of my house, and the other was in the back yard. I think I even took the pictures of them on different days. And, yes, my grass seriously needed to be cut, but because we had had rain every day for over a week, it was still too wet to cut. Maybe that is why they each sat still for me to get some pictures.
The salamander was discovered first. I found him on my front porch while I was feeding my outdoor cat, who completely ignored him. I thought at first he was dead because he was so still. I snapped two pictures of him before he dashed off into the grass.
The butterfly was fluttering around my back yard. I see butterflies out there every day when I take my dogs out, but this is the only one who has sat still long enough for me to get a picture. Of course, this one probably wondered who I was following her around my yard.
Writing Prompts: Do this butterfly and salamander know each other? Are they friends? If so, what kind of conversations do they have? Do they talk about what is going on in the world, or do their conversations only involve what goes on here around my house?
What does this butterfly think about Piper and Leesi? My dogs never bother her. Have they ever communicated with each other?
Also, what does the salamander think about Cheeto, the elderly cat that I have nicknamed Methuselah\< who lives around the front porch? Cheeto doesn’t stray far away from the front porch, so I’m sure they’ve had conversations. Create a conversation the two may have had.
