As it were…

I lived like a little animal that summer.  I spent every waking moment outside, and wandered the woods looking at everything, and eating a good bit of it.  We found that wintergreen berries are delicious, and my sister Jenny at age two could be placed in a large patch and trusted to stay there and eat berries for hours.

My first experience with a "wild animal" came one afternoon about 100 yards from the house.  I saw something about the size of a softball nestled next to a tree.  It was black, and looked completely spherical.  No feet, eyes, ears, or anything.  I poked it with a stick and it gave way quite softly, but didn’t move.

My dad was cutting wood several hundred yards away, and my mom was near the house.  I yelled out "Mo-om!".

"What?!" she yelled back.

"I think I found an animal!" I called.

"DON’T TOUCH IT!!!!!" she shrieked.

She came hustling through the woods and looked closely at it, poked it with a stick and said "I don’t know what it is either!".

"Terry!" she called.

"WHAT?!?!" my dad yelled back.  It was hot, he was tired, sweaty, and frustrated.

"Come see this!"

He came tromping through the woods, looked closely at it and said "Don’t you know a baby porcupine when you see it?!?"

They had a "discussion" after that, both being tired, hot, sweaty, and frustrated.  But I was told to leave it alone.  🙂