As if the birds in the garden aren’t enough to cope with, I have to have one on my tree too! Right at the top…which means reaching it could get me into lots of trouble…

The thing sits there every year and looks at me. My very first Christmas, she put the tree next to the sofa, which was useful, ’cause I could climb up and see what she was doing. I hadn’t a clue what was going on. Even as a pup I had worked out that two-legses are weird sometimes… but this was the weirdest thing yet. She was putting a pretend tree in the living room! And if that wasn’t strange enough, she was getting all gooey as she put things on it to make it all sparkly. Then she put a big, shiny star on top.

I didn’t really know what Christmas was all about then, so I was stumped… what on earth was she up to? Then I saw it… she as putting a tree inside for the birds! The very last thing she did was to carefully lift a little bird up near the top of the tree.

Well, I had to get a closer look at that…I’m a bird-dog, see?

I had a good sniff, but it wasn’t moving. I felt a bit daft when I finally realised it wasn’t a real bird. And every year, she gets the thing out to remind me… only these days, he goes right on top, where the star used to be. I have no idea what happened to that…honest!

She gets about sentimental about the scruffy little robin. Says he has shared a lot of Christmases with her. Truth to tell, I’m sort of fond of him myself now, for the same reason. I always have a smile when I see him there. There is something really special about a Christmas shared.

We have real robins too, though, that come into the garden. One ‘moved in’ when we did, all scruffy feathers and cheek… he even came in the house the day we moved in!

Now he’s all smart and grown up, with his red vest and his mate, but he still comes every day. In fact, wherever she goes, there always seems to be a robin… That’s a bit odd. Maybe the little bird on the tree has something to do with it… maybe sharing is the real magic of Christmas.

I had a letter from two friends who will get to share their Christmas, Fiyero and Idina. They live with Trent McDonald and seem to get lots of snow, looking at their pictures! I think I might ask Santa for some more snow myself…

Much love, Ani xxx

Idina (photo Trent McDonald)

Dear Santa,

Deer?  Where?  (sniff, sniff) I don’t smell a deer.

Ah hmm.  Dear Santa,

We, Fiyero and Idina, have been very good this year.

Well, I have.  Fiyero has been bad.

Fiyero (photo Trent McDonald)

Me?  You bit my leg!

You deserved it.  Besides, you ripped up daddy’s shoe.

It was old.  You chased Josie.

You ran off into the woods and didn’t come back for 20 minutes.

Well, you peed in the house.

It wasn’t peeing, it was marking.  You know, Albert.

Idina is afraid of a little cat, Idina is afraid of a little cat!

Am not!

Are too!

Am not!

Are too!  Ouch!  That’s my leg.  Again!

Hey, careful with those paws.  What do you think you are a Boxer.  Oh… yeah… forgot.

Hey, cut it out.  No biting.  Stinker.

Ouch.  You stop it!  Cat lover.

Insult to injury!  Do you want to take this out back?

Yes!!  What type of stupid question is that?

Hey Daddy, can we go play in the backyard?  There’s snow on the ground!

Letter to Santa?  What letter to Santa?  Oh, yeah, we forgot.

Dear Santa,

We’ve been extra good this year.  For a reward, we’d like to play outside.  Now.

Idina and Fiyero

Find and follow Trent

Trent’s World Blog    Amazon author page    Twitter@trentpmcd

About the author

I never decided what I wanted to do when I grew up. I compose and play music, draw and paint, take a lot of pictures, and yes, I write. I’ve written a couple of books that are sitting on my shelf waiting to go out and I write a new short story almost every week, which I often post on my blog, trentsworldblog.wordpress.com. I’ve collected some of the best short stories I’ve written and put them out as “Seasons of Imagination”.

I also like to eat, so I work as a computer nerd during the day while I figure out what it is I really want to do.

If you really need details, I was born and raised in Ohio by the shore of beautiful Lake Erie and now split my time between mountainous New Hampshire and the coast of Massachusetts.

One thing to know about me is that I hate to write bio-blurbs in the third person.

Find Trent’s books on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle

The Fireborn

In the shadowy area where myth and history collide, an unlikely hero is forced to save the world from an ancient Celtic curse. Dr. Elliot Everett-Jones knows that shadowy area well, having spent most of his life exploring its dimensions as given by a host of unreliable sources and imaginative speculation. Some would say he daydreams over the improbable plots of second-rate Romantic era authors. These fantasies, however, come to life after the discovery of the Cauldron of the Dead. When the Cauldron produces the evil fireborn, Elliot is forced to confront an army of these mythic undead with nothing but his obscure knowledge and the hope of finding the legendary Lady of the Lake to give him Author’s sword. Even more frightening is the idea that he might have to confront his ex-wife, Eleanor. “The Fireborn” is part joyful romp through history, myth and legend, and part fast paced adventure set in modern England and New York. The entire book, though, revolves around Elliot’s relationships with a large variety of characters. These relationships form the key that may unlock the mystery or lead to utter defeat.

Amazon US    Amazon UK

Trent P. McDonald’s Seasons of Imagination contains an eclectic mix of stories covering many places, times and even different genre, yet they all hold one thing in common, they are all about people.  Be they silly, serious or speculative, all of the stories are about us.  What makes us tick?  Why do we say the things we do?  Why do we react as we do?

So whether it seems the stories are exploring outer or inner space, in reality they’re always exploring the human space.

Here is an invitation to open the page and come with me to explore the Seasons of Imagination

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