Oct. 23

I'm sorry I haven't entered for a long time.

Day before yesterday I got my new parakeet. He's "cobalt blue" and his name is Q.

I watched "Ivanhoe" yesterday night. It was lovely and Mom said she would try to get me the book.

It's awful hot. For the first time since I got here I've been able to see the ocean. It was so hot some of the kids got nosebleeds.

Dear Granny is here. I asked if she'd like to see my horses, and she said "not now." I don't know why.

I've written lots of letters to Lori and Robin. I so wish Staru and Robin were real........they seem so real but at the very bottom of my heart I know they aren't. I know there's no G-C, nor C, or J, no D, nor Planet!!!!

I so wish all of that existed and I could travel on a bolt of lightning.

I've made up these things because I can't have them. The more I make these things the more I want them....

I want my friends back....!

Oh, there's something else. Lady's gone. Forever. She flew away.

T, my bald eagle, had been so devoted to her he searched all over for her. Once he caught a glimpse of her, and tried to call her, but a strange force prevented his crying out. I think it was R.

I've found (on Planet) two fat books of records, all about my falcons. With photos of their parents, grandparents, and themselves.

Lady of the wilderness,
flying high and forever free,
She'll never have to serve me
anymore.

Oct. 14

I went on a trip with the Scouts today to the Placerita Canyon Park. We took two little hikes and then a three-mile hike. Mr. Smally, the man who led us, said we'd find a creek. But we didn't, to he took some of us to scout on with him and the rest of them stayed behind with Denise.

We traveled a long way, and decided to turn back. By sheer good luck we made the wrong turn, and ended up at the creek!

We drank from the creek and waded around, while Mr. Smally went back and got the others.

We got our tennies all wet and when we retraced our steps to the trail, our shoes went SQUISH, SQUISH.

We found a little red and green froggy about 1 1/2" long and he held him and let him go.

Oct. 13

I have almost nothing but bad things to tell, so I'll leave it to Staru. Take it away!

(from Staru's narrative)

On one of my visits to Earth, I discovered only one thing similar to Planet.

I found this on the evening of my third day there, at about 7:00.

I heard the trickling of water. I followed it, drawn as if by a magnet, and found a spring similar to ours.

I got my hand wet in the cool water. As I did so, I saw a white cat drinking from the pool, and a frog jumped - PLONK - into the pool!

I took out my willow whistle and played a tune. All of a sudden, I seemed to be on Planet again, with tall trees all round. The spring bubbled and gurgled. It seemed to be keeping time to the song. The cat darted its paw in after a goldfish, missed, and began to lick its paw.

The frog climbed up onto the clover-carpeted island in the middle of the pool. He called REDEEP once and disappeared.

All of a sudden lightning split the sky, and a mist rolled over the ground. And there was my twin sister Dinar standing there. I dropped my whistle, and all of a sudden everything vanished.

Oct. 12

I entered a Benson-and-Hedges sweepstakes. The prize is 100,000 pennies! If I win, I'll be able to buy lots of things. I'll be able to buy Flicka and Starbuck, Yaba and Larkspur, and lots of things! In fact -- I might be able to buy a real horse and pay for his upkeep.

Many of the prizes were ridiculous like 1,000 feet of dental floss, 100 bags of confetti, and 100 pounds of marshmallows. 100,000 pennies is funny, too, but it's worth $1,000.

Wonder if I could become one of those ladies who cluttered up the house with prizes? That might not be as fun as it sounds but I can always sell some of the stuff.

Nathan owns one square inch of Alaska. Maybe I could win that in a contest. I've heard you can.

Oct. 11

Today was my first Scout meeting. We made tambourines and drums and played a game.

Also Denise - that's our leader - gave out calendar order lists. But were only allowed to ask over the telephone! I've called three people and every body said no!

Oct. 10

Mom found "Winter Adventures" yesterday! How super-duper it seemed at first! But after I'd read it, everything was commonplace again.

Here's a list of my books:

1. The Girls at Horse-Cart Manor.
2. The Glorious Summer and Fall.
3. Two Girls and 12 Horses.
4. J and T and 13 Horses.
5. The Note in the Shack.
6. The Mystery of the Telegram.
7. The Mystery of the Old Watch.
8. The Clue of the Abandoned Baby
9. The Initials in the Painting
10. Thunderchase
11. Winter Adventures
12. The Frightful Fire
12. The Mystery of the Pill Bottle (unifinished).

T and J and their friends are rather interesting:

J, 16 (note brown hair and shortness)
T, 18 (note dark gold hair).
Marie, 18 (note blonde hair)
Ann, 16 (note thinness)
Miss Trance 50
Jim 17
Heidi 16 (note light brown hair)

and others.

It's nearing 7:05. I'm going to go to a Scout meeting tomorrow.

Enough about these somewhat unimportant affairs. I'd better get down to business. My falcons are getting out of hand. I think they're homesick. It wouldn't do to send them home to old V Dr., because when they came back and told me how it was, I'd probably cry.

Oct. 8

Aunt B came tonight. She doesn't feel very well, so she's going to sleep over.

Sleep over. I did that twice with Lori. It was so much fun playing Staru in bed, and playing with the horses.

Someday I'm going to bring my horses to life. I'll travel all over. I'll try to find some horses that are "spittin' images" of my horse models. I'll buy them, too.

I wish I could see Lori..........