We were driving up the slope from Chico yesterday when I informed my wife that I was going to pull over at the next turn.
"I think I saw a dead badger here yesterday, and I wanna check it out. I saw it out of the corner of my eye, but if IS a badger, it'll be an interesting record."
She is used to this sort of thing.
I slowed down, and when the "badger" came into view I had a momentary decision dilemma. A highway patrol car was parked only a few yards away. The officer was my oldest granddaughter's age, and I could read her mind.
"What the hell is this old bugger up to?"
"No problem officer", says the bugger, "I just wanna check that dead animal for the UC Davis roadkill database".
A moment later I was looking at a black-tailed deer fawn. Boy had I been wrong.
It was not an occasion for a jocular remark about finding free taco meat, so I snapped a photo as an official act.
It was a close call, but she smiled when I said, "I'll bet this doesn't happen very often."
If you want to know more about California's roadkill database check out the link.
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