We need to step back several days to Labor Day ’10. Up before the crack of dawn–perhaps it was still dusk from the night before…it was an early up to run through chores, drive 45 minutes to pick up a tag and make a starting gun @ 6:30 a.m.
83 degrees with humidity as the sun was just beginning to peek up over the eastern hills….and it’s still 6:00a.m. It’ll be a hot event and a solid chance of rain later in the day. Not a lot of talking in the car~~ the gal wasn’t really happy about being dragged out of a slumber at this hour on a day off. I wasn’t high on the list of favorites that a.m. Of course I did the right thing and made the long hike in the heat from the parking space to pick up tags.
An amazing thing—standing in the sun breaking out in a sweat waiting for a go and the announcer indicates the Star Spangled Banner will be sung in a Native American language. By a teenager. Really amazing–of all the times hearing that familiar song this is likely to the one I’ll most remember.
About those critters……finish the event; get a massage and back to the house. A couple hours later a downpour to beat all and I look out the window and see something whipping and writhing around in the back yard. You guessed it–a critter likely became disoriented during the storm and seeking higher ground ended up working its way through the fence and into the yard. While it didn’t appear particularly big around…it gets points for head-to-tail length. 4+ at least. It was sizable. My vote is on a harmless Gopher-version…..any confirmation or other ideas? (photos pending)
AniMal