First Blood - The Mighty Hunter

The back yard is getting more and more interesting every day. As I'm piddling around my plum tree I notice I'm not alone. "Hello?", I say. "Have we met?". Oh..apparently not, because I'm given a quick glance and then ignored. Someone is munching on MY plums without MY permission.

"Hello?", I say again. "Do you know that you're in MY yard?". Still nothing. So I launch into attack mode. I get the critter between my paws and I study it. It starts to run so I immediately go into "bark mode".

Mom comes to the back door and says, curiously, "What ARE you doing?". I'm busy so I ignore her. And then she sees a critter scampering toward the fence, with me in hot pursuit. I charge and then pull back...then charge again. By the time me and the strange critter get to the corner where the two fences meet, my mom is yelling her fool head off screaming "NONONONONONO...MARY-MARGARET! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Yuck...BAD!!". I'm still ignoring her, and by the time she gets her shoes on her feet my quarry is finished. I am declared the winner.



(Double click the picture to enlarge and see what I bagged on safari!)

Here comes my mom, camera and all, still not quite getting it. "ARRRRGGGH!!", she squeals. "A RAT!". Then comes a stream of NONONONO's and BLEGHs and YUCKS!! She takes the picture and then I get scooped up. There's some pink on my tummy and she checks me out. It's plum pulp and maybe a bit of juice. I'm sticky but fine.

Back in the house she tries to tempt me with my dinner but having tasted rat I'm not into chicken tonight. I go to the back door and squeak to go out. "In your DREAMS!", Mom says. "Not until the neighborhood cats take care of that RAT!!". Then she says (to no one in particular), "Tomorrow, I'm calling the exterminator!"

So far I haven't heard one "Thank you!" or "Nice job, Mary-Margaret!". Not one.

Hmmmph!

Love,

Mary-Margaret

PS - I don't think I'm getting kissed on the mouth tonight, either!