Thursday, May 08, 2008

Of Ghoulies and Ghosties...

...and short-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night.

Set out to walk the dog at about 8 or so tonight. I opened the back door. Before the motion-sensor lights out back could come on, I heard rustling and a THUMP! and Daisy tried to take off (along with her leash and my wrist). I wrestled her back into the house and closed her in, then turned to face the intruder.

My first thought was that my turkey hen was back - I've seen one several times recently, and she seems to like the sunflower seed that falls from the bird feeder. But no, it was not an early visit from Thanksgiving dinner (only kidding, I might actually find it difficult to eat turkey this year, now that I have a turkey friend). I caught a glimpse of something fast and four-legged, and I heard another THUMP!

When the motion-sensor light came on, I saw a tiny little female beagle running away from me. I called her, and she came. I thought my Daisy might be gaining a new companion, but then I noticed the beagle's pretty pink collar with little rhinestones on it, and I saw that she was clean and well-nourished - all pointing to a recent escape from a good home. She belongs to a neighbor who more or less lives across the street, and she is safe at home this evening. Needless to say, she would have been welcome to stay.

As for the things that went bump in the night, well, let's just say that the growing woodpile needs a little bit of attention tomorrow...