A Is For Armadillo

A is for Armadillo

Along the byways and highways of NW Arkansas, you frequently see armadillos killed on the side of the road.  I told Gary that I hoped to see at least one alive armadillo during our stay in Ft. Smith.  My wish was granted when I saw four of them on my morning walk in our neighborhood.  They were digging for food along a small stream.

I learned a bit about armadillos.  They are only in the "New World" seeming to start first in South America and then moved north.  Two main species live in southern United States although they are appearing further north such as Kansas and Illinois (according to the internet.)  The reason that they are often road kill is that when startled their natural reaction is to jump up--sometimes 3-4 feet in the air--right into the bottom of cars or trucks speeding over them.  They also are one of the few animals that carry leprosy and it can be passed to humans through contact or eating the meat.

When you move to a new place, you have to learn new stuff,,,,,

Why Did The Turtle Cross The Road?

I don't know why, but he wasn't moving across the street fast enough for me...so I had to help him across.  

I was worried that a car would come around the corner and not see him.  Sure enough, within a couple of minutes, a truck came blaring down the road. 

It was weird how this tiny little act of service to a turtle made me happy all day.  (And I have since helped him --or another turtle the same size--get across again.)

S would be for Skunks--they live in our neighborhood as well.  Coming home late from Institute, we turned to go up the small hill to our house and our headlights hit three pretty big skunks in the grass on the side of the street.  They were beautiful, actually, and fortunately, they turned and ran into the forest as we drove up the hill--and no spraying was involved--luckily. I wished I had a picture of them but that is not something that you risk when you have just disturbed skunks.  Maybe next time!

AND the Deer!!! Will we make it through this mission and all of our driving without hitting a deer on the road? 

This deer was eating grass in the Clarksville Church parking lot when we drove up for Institute.  He didn't stay around to visit.  He immediately jumped the fence and then stood and watched us for a minute before taking off.

We have seen a few live deer since arriving.  Some eating on the side of the freeway at night which is a bit nerve racking for me.  We had one dart in front of us one morning on a small country road.  It was amazing to watch it dart through the heavy forest.  I commented on how easily it seemed to run between the trees and Jena said, "He runs...like a deer." Her timing made it funny and we laughed which makes Jena giggle which is one of the best sounds in the world....the things you do on car trips.

We also saw two amber brown bunnies playing in the grass on the side of the road on the same day we saw the deer in Clarksville.  They were too fast for pictures, but beautiful.

The world in Arkansas is a diverse and amazing place.  Mot of these things live in Utah, too, but they are closer to where we walk, drive, and serve these days!

Scott says I have to catch the armadillo for it to count!  Let just say that my bucket list is not the same as Scott's!