“Nisky” of Chincoteague

April 10, 2009 | My Jottings

When I was a little girl, I read most of Marguerite Henry’s books, and my favorite was Misty of Chincoteague.

Little did I know that I would have grandchildren that would someday live close to Chincoteague Island (off the coast of Virginia) and that I would be posting pictures of their recent visit to that island on my blog.

First, here’s an older cover of the book I loved:

And here’s a sweet photo of two of my beautiful grandchildren taken last weekend on Chincoteague Island — almost-seven year-old Mr. McBoy and almost-five year-old Mrs. Nisky. Now you know where the title of this blog post comes from – I just couldn’t resist.

And I was tickled to learn from my daughter Sharon that Mr. McBoy and Mrs. Nisky were able to see some of the wild ponies that still live on the island, like the ones that inspired Ms. Henry to write her beloved horse stories many years ago. Here are some of the ponies my sweethearts saw on Chincoteague:

So now I think the Marguerite Henry books might mean something to them, and I’m ordering some today and having them sent to my grandbabies in the east.

I haven’t seen these dear little ones for almost one year. I’m counting the days until they come to visit us this summer. There are no wild ponies nor tall wind-blown ocean grasses in my part of the country, but we might just be able to spy a cardinal or two, and I can guarantee that we’ll see a small herd of white-tail deer in our backyard. And a few squirrels. And a murder of raucous crows in the white, peeling birches. And a couple of chipmunks. And some chickadees at the feeder. And moonlit bunnies in the flower garden. And a pileated woodpecker in the pines. And countless sparrows. And some juncos on the deck. And robins waiting for worms in the yard. And two pesky Schnauzers in the house.

After Mr. McBoy and Mrs. Nisky have been fortunate enough to see the wild ponies of Chincoteague Island, do you think our Minnesota critters will do?