Another big difference....

Ok, this post is likely to be a wee bit gruesome, so feel free to skip if you like.. lol

Another big difference between California and Alabama.. is the road kill.

In California...most commonly flattened are squirrels, skunks, coyotes, and unfortunately, cats and the occasional dog.

In Alabama... you still have squirrels, the rare skunk... but now add 'possums.. which definitely outrank the number of anything else flattened... *armadillos* ('bamans are not too happy about these residents of Texas traveling so far east) and turtles.

Avoiding possums is not hard.. I've seen a few try to cross the street at night when I'm driving... no, didn't have to swerve dangerously to miss them... they are SLOOOOOOOOOOW. They waddle like a 9-month pregnant woman. (I can say that, having been there 3 times myself). I can only conclude that the ones that got hit were either hit intentionally, or someone was fiddling with their radio or cell phone instead of watching the road. Because they are VERY easy to miss.

I haven't personally seen any skunks.. but I've smelled them, so I know they're out here.

Armadillos on the other hand.. the only ones I've seen near a road were dead on the half shell. They make some very interesting road kill. The only live 'dillos I've seen were in the woods on an island in the middle of a lake. They're actually pretty cute when they're not squished. I like their faces.. kind of like a mouse but longer snouted with cute little ears. I'm not fooled by cute faces though, I also notice their loooong razor sharp claws that they bulldoze through the earth with, looking for tasty worms and grubs. Claws that could easily remove parts of my flesh if I get too close. The same claws that make homeowners boiling mad when they come out in the morning and find their yard full of deep holes in inappropriate places.. like flower beds or the middle of the lawn.

But the poor turtles... they move slow, yes.. but you don't realize it's a turtle until you're almost on top of it. If it's lucky, it's a low slung turtle and you have a high sitting undercarriage... because turtles, for all their reputation of being slow, are actually pretty darn fast. Not as fast as a rabbit, mind you... but definitely faster than a snail. Or a possum. I have a tendency to pull my car over, pick up the turtle (both hands, these are big guys) and carry it the rest of the way across the road. Ok, so I've got a soft heart. lol They seem to enjoy traveling from pond to pond, the problem being most ponds are across the street from each other.

We live right next to a lake (we call it a lake, but it's really just a very big pond), and so see turtles heading to and from it fairly often. One decided to take a short cut through my dog yard... the dogs were inside, but they sure let me know someone was in their yard. I watched it cross the yard at record break-neck speed, but then it had trouble figuring out how to get under the fence on the other side (my "fence" is just plastic gardening mesh). So of course I went out there and lifted him over. I thought I saw flames issuing from under his back end as he zipped off towards the lake at full speed.

Ok, speaking of backyard trespassers, I have to mention the screwy squirrel. I was just letting the dogs out, and before I could stop them from running out the door, saw a squirrel by the fence. He was on the outside closest to the house, but it was apparent that he had crawled under the mesh.. his tail was still under the plank holding the mesh down in that spot. Yes, his tail was under the plank. I have never seen a squirrel yanking so hard in my life trying to extract a tail from under a plank. After about 3 good tugs, he got it loose.. at which point the poor panicked creature tried running back the way he had come... but uhm.. there was this mesh fence in the way. After bouncing off the plastic mesh several times, he finally jumped high enough to jump over the fence. Remember he was on the OUTSIDE of the fence, right? That means he just jumped INTO the yard WITH THE DOGS. At this point *I* panic. I have no idea what my dogs are going to do to this poor, obviously young and stupid, squirrel. Fortunately it managed to run faster than my dogs... but I was sure I was going to see a repeat of the boinging off the plastic mesh scene again. But no, this little squirrel had himself a tunnel through the long grass and under the fence to dive into. It was a little gray blur as he highlighted for the old oak trees on the lot next door. *phew*.