Surprises

Every now and again, things happen that are unexpected. Really unexpected. My latest sightings were both unexpected in small ways. I mean, don’t expect to read that I suddenly have wild elephants or pterodactyls in the forest. Nonetheless, what I saw was a surprise.

Surprise #1: This morning it’s just after dawn, and I’m walking the dogs. It’s mostly clear out, some clouds in the east. At the end of our walk, I turn around to go back to the cabin and there in front of me, in the western sky, is a beautiful rainbow. It’s the first I’ve seen this year. It was also the first rainbow I’ve ever seen so soon after dawn, with the sun just above the horizon, so its arc was almost as pointed as a McDonald’s arch. Apparently, the water in the clouds on the eastern horizon was enough to produce this lovely sight, but who would’ve guessed?

Surprise #2: This morning I’d just started my drive to work. I was still well before reaching open farmland and still surrounded by forest when a black rabbit casually hops across the road in front of me. I do a double take and stop the car. Yes, it really was a black rabbit. Obviously, it was someone’s escaped or released pet, but still, this isn’t an everyday occurrence. If the thing escaped, it’s at least a mile from the nearest house (and I’ve never seen a rabbit cage there). It seemed happy enough and even reasonably wary.

Not a surprise: Baby Dog has put herself on stakeout duty at the front door in the evening to watch for the raccoon. She stands with her nose to the glass, at attention and she waits. Seeing the raccoon seems to be the high point of her day, and she has enormous patience when waiting for it to show up. When the raccoon does appear, she jumps into action, barking and jumping, trying to scare it away. It is not particularly scared by her, though instead of going directly to the dish, as it did before, it now more cautiously stays on the last step and stretches a paw into the dish.