Mattie's Magical Summer

By Laughing Womyn Ashonosheni

Then and now and here and there live closer to each other for the Donidan family than they do for some folks. One summer morning then and now and here and there come very close together and Mattie walks into a whole new world of adventures with a very old Grandpa who lived 200 years ago.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sophronia Press
• Release date: Jan 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9781941301005

Laughing Womyn Ashonosheni

Laughing Womyn Ashonosheni is a Shaman, Wisdom Teacher, and Healer. Her spiritual gifts and expansive insights are a native part of her being. She enjoys transforming the mysterious into the obvious and Tarot is one of her favorite tools for doing this. Her professional expertise comes from nearly thirty years of helping people create fulfilling and happy lives. Her broad insight into the layers of wisdom available through Tarot has evolved as a result of providing thousands of readings for people from all walks of life. Laughing Womyn is deeply rooted in the traditions of her ancestors and enthusiastically engaged in the traditions being reclaimed and those being created by our rapidly expanding human consciousness. She carries a vision of celebration between all beings and all ways of being. She remembers each one of us is capable of profound delight in this magnificent journey through life on the physical plane.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Hand In The Garden

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The sky was just beginning to turn light when Mattie heard the birds waking up the way they always do. First were the crows shouting their caw, caw, caw, then the blue jays who always sounded like they were warning everyone about the day to come. Finally the cardinals, wrens, and goldfinches added their songs to the morning choir.

Through her open window Mattie smelled the fresh, dew-filled air and felt the breeze sliding down the hillside. She stretched a little under the quilt Grandma had made for her last birthday, feeling warm and loved as she thought about the day ahead. She could have stayed there longer but the morning bird choir called her to go outside and enjoy the day.

Today was the first green bean picking day and Mattie loved picking green beans. She usually had to remind herself to only eat a few of the littler beans while she picked so there’d be plenty to pick again in a few days. Mattie had always helped Mom plant seeds and pick things, but this was her first summer to be responsible for a whole garden job all by herself. She waited forever for the beans to start growing and finally, just today, she’d get to pick some ripe ones.

Mattie slid out of bed, trying to be quiet and not wake her cat, Orange Sugar, who was sound asleep on her pillow. Of course that didn’t work very well. Orange Sugar had been waiting for Mattie to get up and when she felt Mattie move she jumped down and headed straight downstairs to be fed.

After putting on her red shorts and purple blouse, Mattie followed Orange Sugar to the kitchen. Nobody else was awake yet, which didn’t happen very often, so Mattie fed Orange Sugar, ate a banana and then headed outside to run her bare feet through the wet grass. She had to wait until the dew dried before she could pick the green beans anyway so there was plenty of time for another adventure first.

After dancing in the grass for a bit, Mattie heard the stream gurgling its morning welcome and went to see if the crawdaddies were anywhere around. They usually hid just under the edge of the big stones in the stream and then would scurry across the gravel bottom if anyone came near. Not today. Mattie walked quietly in the chilly water for several minutes and only saw frogs. The frogs were ok, but they weren’t as fun to watch as the crawdaddies were.

She looked up at the sun now shining above the treetops and decided it was finally bean picking time. Grabbing her basket from the shed, Mattie headed to the garden and started picking. The yellow beans had to be picked first. She didn’t know why, it was just the way it was done. When she got to the green beans her basket was already half full and she’d eaten a few baby carrots along the way.

Mattie carefully picked the green beans, holding the stalks with one hand like Mom had shown her to do so she wouldn’t break the plants. And then it happened. That feeling she’d had last summer once or twice,