A VERY CLOSE ENCOUNTER!!!

 You never know what's going to happen in the desert.  Some days are quiet and peaceful, other days not so much.  Of course there's always a new bug or killer creature introducing himself, and in this case, he got my attention!!

There I was, sitting on the couch sipping a second cup of phony coffee, trying to wake up from a too short night.  I glanced in the kitchen and froze!!! Are you kidding me?  Okay Mother Nature ... I've had enough!!!

I stared ... it stared back.  Hmmm I don't think it's moving.  By now I'm standing on the couch, ready to call Mr. Chance to the rescue.  It still didn't move.  My weapon of choice would be a shovel, but this thing is between me and the door where the shovel lives.  

At last I got up the nerve to confront it with a fireplace poker.  Okay ... it's a stick I must have drug in from outside while chopping and hacking the bushes.  My heart rate went back down about an hour later.

Little did I know the encounter that was coming around the corner.  Here's my recently purchased quail block.  It should last maybe a month.  What a peaceful picture, right?  The day was quiet as I whipped out two more quilts.  Boy do I love that machine when it works right.  I even picked up a new skill ... cropping.  

I know these quilts are for charity ... and I know the thought is there for sure ... but honestly, the thin sheets for backing ... this one is actually a large drape with the seams removed ... just make me cringe.  A trip to the fabric store may be in order.

So now it's like 6:30 at night ... I'm tired from quilting all day ... and I think I'll put the game camera out.  I trot out the door, open my gate and go down the four steps, duck my head under the low hanging tree branches, thinking you're not going to pull any more hair from MY head ... and I hear 

GRUNT ... GROWL ... SNORT

I froze.  Here I am always looking at the ground for snakes, when I should have been looking up.  I ran headlong into a javelina.  He was 10 feet from me and not the least bit happy I was interrupting his dinner of flowers and grass.  My mind was racing .... these guys are not as sweet as they look.  They can kill a big dog, or rip a gaping hole in your leg.  Funny, they usually run off when they see you.

The hair on my neck stood up .... the hair on HIS neck and BACK stood up ... a bad sign for moi!!  I ever so slowly took a couple of steps back, then made a beeline for the thankfully still open gate.  Wow!!  That was a close encounter I hope never to repeat.  As I peeked around the corner of the gate, he snorted again, raised his hackles and came after me.  

Okay little buddy .... I'm leaving you alone.  Sort of ... I ran for my camera after slamming the gate.

I could see one more off in the distance.  He came to his brother's aid in a flash.

Uh oh ... there are MORE!!  It finally dawned on me what was up.  I bet they were after the quail block.

As I made my way across the lawn ... gates now closed ... I spotted a couple more in the bushes.  Gosh ... this is a regular picnic gathering.  Obviously they aren't the least bit afraid of me!!

Yessirree ... the quail block and board are gone and I hear commotion over the block wall.  I peeked and was confronted instantly.  My hackles went up ... his hackles went up ... snort grunt snort ... which means get AWAY from the grain, it's MINE!!  He's like a porcupine!!  At this point I'm wondering if they can jump a fence.

You can barely see the remains of the block as everyone was letting the smallest baby eat.  Apparently everyone has their place at the table.  Fifteen minutes later, he was still eating.  I suspect he's going to have a nice belly ache in no time.  In all I counted eight.

Instead of scaring them off, I let them have at it.  The two babies looked pretty skinny, so I figured they needed the sustenance.  Here's an up close and personal picture.

An hour later, it's now dark, I decided to try and set the game camera again.  I took my flashlight out just to check and what do I see shining back in the dark of night?  The eyes of the eight still hanging around the outside of my yard.  Okay then .... there will be no videos for the blog.  

I don't know how long they hung around, but Cooper and I finally went to bed.  Another late night and early morning ... but it was worth it!  My tip of the day is if you see these guys ... watch from a distance.  Close encounters of THIS kind are scary!