The coati came back with an injured paw. I don’t know whether he was caught in a trap or stepped on a thorn or was stung by a scorpion. Whatever happened, he is permanently disabled. The foot has withered. He comes to the door looking pitiful, and I give him two handfuls of raisins and two handfuls of peanuts. But he is getting fat and rejects food not up to his standards. I discovered that he walks a mile in one direction to get fed at one house and a mile in the opposite direction to a bed-and-breakfast. And probably to all stops in between. Smart animal.
We came home from a shopping trip yesterday to find a Gila monster on the front porch. He was two feet long and barely moved when Harold came out to photograph him. I know it’s a male because it is Gila monster mating season right now and the males taste the trail of a female with their tongues. If the female isn’t in the mood she bites him and walks off. Simple courting procedure, unlike the javelinas that put on a show on the front porch last week. I can only provide one picture because the rest are unsuitable for ages 8 to 12.
Last night a bear murdered the bird feeders I forgot to take in. She (I think it’s a female) got the feeders outside the town library, too. This morning Harold was watering a flowerbed when a five-foot-long snake slithered between his legs. It took a few seconds to tell whether it was a rattlesnake or not, and a few minutes to get his heart rate down. It was a gopher snake drawn by the smell (or taste, because snakes hunt with their tongues) of water. It lay under the water sprinkler drinking happily. Harold came inside and had a drink, too.
The movie option for The House of the Scorpion was renewed for a further 18 months. This means there is some interest, but they don’t have the money yet.
The photo of the gila monster tongue is from the internet.
