wildlife

Right after I sign-off, I got paged. I couldn't get logged in to work via the dial-in modem (have to check that out tomorrow), so I had to drive in. On the way back, I had to slow down and let a big, fat racoon finish crossing the street. In 13 years of living in New Hampshire, that was the first racoon I'd seen out here. It was around this time last year that I saw my first moose up close-up and personal. And that was also walking down the street!

At my old job there used to be a fox, and one summer a coyote that hung around in the fields around the building. The coyote was really scraggly looking, but the fox was goregous. It looked like it was gliding over the fields more than running. Simply beautiful.

There are various heron, hawks, falcons, and of course ducks and geese here. Several times state game authorities have had to tranquilize black bears that have gotten into various residential areas around town and take them back up north, but I've not yet seen one of those.

I'm not the "outdoorsy" type, but I really want to get out and hike some of the easier mountain trails this year. I'm not sure if I'm just starting to feel my age and want to do this to spite that, or if I'm finally getting to a point to where my personal quirks are under control enough to tolerate a literal expansion of my horizons. I do know that after the long, cold winter and spring we've had that I am eager to get out and enjoy the heat.