Yesterday I took the dogs (Cozy, Tucker, and the Scotties) up to the mountains for a hike. The temp in town was over 90 and I was hoping for a little cooler up there. We've also had hazy smoke from wildfires, and I was hoping for a little less up there. It was a little cooler, but much more smokey. I learned last night that there is another wildfire near Lake George, hence the extra smoke.
I decided to hike up Crystal Creek so the dogs could cool off in the water frequently. They were having fun, running up and down the hills, sniffing everything, wading in the creek, when Jackson spotted The Rat. To be more precise, What Was Left Of a Dead Packrat. In this case, everything was there except the head. It was freshly dead, probably offed by a fox.
I forgot the camera in the car, so I don't have photos of the corpse. Here's a photo from Google of a live packrat. They are big, about 5 or 6 inches long excluding the tail. In the case of yesterday's deceased treasure, excluding the head and including the tail it was about 10 inches long.
Jackson picked up the treasure on the way back to the car. I was able to convince him to drop it by offering to trade treats. But he wasn't going to leave his treasure there, he was going to take it to the car! Ick! Gross! No! Acky! I know from experience that eventually Wager would steal it, and eat it. Should I have warned you, dear reader, about the graphic details that may be written in this blog? Do you want to hear about the pieces of squirrel they found on a walk last week? Another time....
The story ended with me standing over the dearly departed, keeping Jackson away from it long enough for me to find a couple of sticks. I used the sticks to pick up the body and carry it to a tree branch, high above the dogs' heads. I stashed the packrat there, figuring that a fox would be able to retrieve it, or a hawk would enjoy it. I'm sorry I don't have photos. I'll be sure to remember the camera next time!
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