Cricket Creek Bog Nobody likes the records that I play.

Towhee had just passed back into her daughter’s territory when she thought to pause and glance in the direction of the sweep. She didn’t expect to see much, so she jolted a little when her eyes met a stranger’s a short distance away. She promptly shifted to face him, brow furrowing when she realized he was vaguely familiar. She couldn’t quite place him.

She bent to set the muskrat at her feet, meaning to call out to him. But Towhee realized she didn’t know what to say to this man. Meerkat and Njord didn’t seem to mind having neighbors so close, yet she couldn’t help but feel perturbed about it. Even with the slight familiarity, Towhee wasn’t sure she could make nice with these folks.