What a Difference a Day Makes ( actually 18,250 days)

  

I went to my 50th high school class reunion and realized that the 18,250 days since have passed like they are yesterday. It was wonderful to see old friends and guess who they were before you looked at the picture and name pinned on their chest.

The days were so important to us then, most days going by slowly until the night of the Prom, or the night of Homecoming or summer vacation. I wish time would go as slowly now. I don't know if seniors in high school have a section in their year book about superlatives or not but we did. We had the Class Clowns, the Most Dramatic, Class Politicians, Most Popular, Most Optimistic, Best dressed and so on. The only one I managed to get was Best Looking along with Martin.

Above is the picture of us together that was in the yearbook. Below as we are 18,250 days later.

A Killer Strikes Again

  

Yesterday was a busy day here, I had plenty of errands to run and finally got home about 4:00 pm expecting to take some aspirin and lie down to get rid of the headache I'd developed.

I had let Tinker out as soon as I returned and when I went to let her back in she didn't come to my call. I whistled and called and she still didn't come. I heard a sharp barking noise, the high rasping hysterical kind, so I changed clothes, put on comfortable shoes with a tread and went down the hill.

There she was digging a huge hole near the drainage ditch. She was crouched down frantically digging under the fence. We've had bobcats in the neighborhood and I was afraid that she was just trying to get out under the fence after it. That wasn't the case. An armadillo was plastered flat against a rock with it's stomach facing the rock and clinging for dear life. It had seen Tinker and run and burrowed under a rock only to find another rock on the other side; deadend for sure.

She suddenly came trotting out into the yard with the armadillo in her mouth, shaking it and crunching at the same time. Horrible sound that. She has huge back teeth and if she can get something that far back in her mouth it's a goner. Possums are dispatched with one crunch around the shoulders so they can't run. This armadillo had been crushed pretty flat but was still moving. Tinker would let it drop and if it tried to run she grabbed it and shook it some more and crunched some more.

I was in a panic trying to get it away from her but she was determined to keep it. Everytime I came near should would pick it up and take off. Finally my thinking cleared a little and I got the hose and sprayed her with it and she dropped the armadillo and ran up the hill.

With it firmly nestled in my shovel I hurled it over the back fence and then went to catch Tinker. I had called a friend who came over to help me get the dirt, blood and gore off of her with dog shampoo and she finally settled down.

Normally she is the sweetest dog, very affectionate and very smart but let a critter into the yard and she becomes a hunting dog - a killer! I'm hoping this little foray satisfied her bloodlust for a least a week. She knew this armadillo was out there, she could smell it through the walls of the house and looked for it every night. Luckily it was stupid enough to come out in the daytime or else I'd be shoveling at 2:00 in the morning like last time.