Emma has talked about her caterpillar from Mt. Graham for the last 3 days. So when she came screaming into the house this afternoon with news of a "huge, way-huge horny toad," I determined to break my "no-wildlife" rule & catch it for her. Even better, we were having some friends come over, so they could enjoy him too. 
I have a very strict policy that we may examine & enjoy the wildlife, but we are not allowed to poke, squish, de-tail, throw rocks at, or otherwise harm the little creatures that live outside. This was VERY hard for little Benson & Frank to comply with, but they did OK, and our little visitor eventually regained his freedom when Frank "turned him over, Mom!" The sight of the 2 2-year olds trying to throw the box back over the little escapee was hilarious, but he got away before I could get my camera.
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The kids went into the backyard to swing & play, and were pretty quiet until I was in the middle of doing dishes. I had seen them all getting up onto the trampoline, and they had actually been up there for a few minutes when I heard an absolutely eardrum-shattering scream from each of the 2 girls. "Mommy, there's something disgusting on the trampoline!"
.
So out goes Mommy to investigate, and guess what I found? The decapitated, fly-covered remnants of a 9-inch (even minus the head) ground squirrel. Don't ask me how these kids managed to jump for 5 minutes without noticing this thing. It was laying right in the middle of the trampoline! Luckily nobody had touched it, but Mommy had to. YUCK!!!!
.
Where's Daddy when you need him? After all, this particular little rodent had been shot by Daddy just yesterday as he tried to defend our garden with a pellet gun. [Well, he says it's for the garden, but I know he's just out there having fun killing God's creatures.] Anyway, he thought that he'd killed this squirrel, but it wasn't anywhere around when he went looking for it to dispose of the carcass. Lucky me to be able to do so after it'd been dead for over a day & the dogs had chewed off its poor little head.
.
I'll have to remember to give a special Thank You to whichever of our cherished canines that just loves leaving these "presents" for us on the tramp. Not counting today, in the past month we've had 2 rodents, a few lizards, and 1 completely unidentifiable mess, all in various stages of decay. It's a good thing I was raised in the sticks & have had my share of experience with stuff like this. The older I get, the more I understand some of my "city girl" friends, and their utter abhorrence for rural living. Not enough to make me want to live in town, but I do understand.
I have a very strict policy that we may examine & enjoy the wildlife, but we are not allowed to poke, squish, de-tail, throw rocks at, or otherwise harm the little creatures that live outside. This was VERY hard for little Benson & Frank to comply with, but they did OK, and our little visitor eventually regained his freedom when Frank "turned him over, Mom!" The sight of the 2 2-year olds trying to throw the box back over the little escapee was hilarious, but he got away before I could get my camera..
The kids went into the backyard to swing & play, and were pretty quiet until I was in the middle of doing dishes. I had seen them all getting up onto the trampoline, and they had actually been up there for a few minutes when I heard an absolutely eardrum-shattering scream from each of the 2 girls. "Mommy, there's something disgusting on the trampoline!"
.
So out goes Mommy to investigate, and guess what I found? The decapitated, fly-covered remnants of a 9-inch (even minus the head) ground squirrel. Don't ask me how these kids managed to jump for 5 minutes without noticing this thing. It was laying right in the middle of the trampoline! Luckily nobody had touched it, but Mommy had to. YUCK!!!!
.
Where's Daddy when you need him? After all, this particular little rodent had been shot by Daddy just yesterday as he tried to defend our garden with a pellet gun. [Well, he says it's for the garden, but I know he's just out there having fun killing God's creatures.] Anyway, he thought that he'd killed this squirrel, but it wasn't anywhere around when he went looking for it to dispose of the carcass. Lucky me to be able to do so after it'd been dead for over a day & the dogs had chewed off its poor little head.
.
I'll have to remember to give a special Thank You to whichever of our cherished canines that just loves leaving these "presents" for us on the tramp. Not counting today, in the past month we've had 2 rodents, a few lizards, and 1 completely unidentifiable mess, all in various stages of decay. It's a good thing I was raised in the sticks & have had my share of experience with stuff like this. The older I get, the more I understand some of my "city girl" friends, and their utter abhorrence for rural living. Not enough to make me want to live in town, but I do understand.
1 comment:
I like your wildlife rule, I wish I had implemented it with the boys long ago... it's too late now!
Fun day with the Lees, fun memories! Even with the headless squirrel.
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