When Nature Comes Calling
When nature comes calling means one thing to many of us. It’s a saying associated with our digestive system and we better listen when it calls.
Today, however, I would like to concentrate on when nature and its outdoor creatures come to visit.
Most often that kind of visit is not regularly encouraged but rather a creature from nature stumbles across us as it is heading somewhere else.
There are a few exceptions.
I was camping this past weekend in the mountains of
About 2:30 a.m. I awoke to hear the outdoor trash can being invaded by a nighttime visitor.
We knew there was a possibility of bears in the forest, but it was pitch black out there and a peak through the screen revealed nothing but darkness. We continued to listen to the invader rummaging through the trash which, I thought, likely contained bones leftover from the meat as well as some potatoes and vegetables.
Being with people who were regular campers, a red lens flashlight soon appeared and we discovered a LARGE raccoon enjoying a late night dinner from that can.
We left the raccoon alone. Next morning there were a few bags of chips missing, trash from the can all over the grounds, etc.
Recently, there was a very large river cooter that appeared in the backyard of my friends’ home when I was in
My most recent visit from nature was three feet long. It appeared at the door of my office the first day back after my camping vacation.
Now mind you, I have been working in a portable office for almost four years now. I have never seen a snake anywhere near. There have been a few other creatures like those lovely palmetto bugs, and a mouse we named “Bartholomew†he was with us so long.
This snake, however, was slithering across the walkway right toward my workplace as I was coming to the office early that morning. At first it just moved around and under the steps.
Then, it did something I was not suspecting. It started going up the side of the building and around the door. With no warning at all, and very instinctually I might add, it began to slither into the crack between the door and the inside of the frame.
I swear, it was if he had been invited for a conference and knew just where to come.
He just didn’t knock first.
I called the maintenance folks and they came down to get it. Fortunately, it did not go all the way inside the office and one of them was able to actually pick it up and take it away.
My wish for you today is that you never have to come face to face with a creature of nature unless you want to. Zoos are good places to do that. Just maintain a healthy respect for nature and keep your distance.
~ Joellen