Murph gets at least two round-the-block walks a day. Once in the morning and once in the early evening.
We rarely take him on longer walks through the neighborhood after dark. (During Daylight Savings Time, that is. Once we fall back and it gets dark by five we don’t have much choice.) For now, however, while there’s still light in the sky come his six o’clock walk, we’re only out past dark when we take him up the cul-de-sac for a last pee-pee of the night walk.
Most times. Sometimes we walk a little farther than normal, or Murph dawdles sniffing things, or we run into neighbors and get to chatting too much. Next thing we know we find ourselves just finishing up his six o’clock walk as dusk’s falling.
Spooky.
That’s when the freaks come out.
Bats
The bats love nothing better than starting their nocturnal hunt once the sun goes down. They don’t bother me much, but the other night Murph and I ran into a neighbor’s daughter at the bat-hunting time of night. We chatted for about two-seconds –until she saw a couple bats fluttering overhead. She fled in her house so fast she was just a blur.
Toads and Frogs
Murph loves frogs! When we lived in Jacksonville and we’d go out for our last walk of the night, we’d always spot one in front of our house. He never tried to eat them (phew!), but he took great delight in pawing at them to provoke them into hopping and then giving chase. It didn’t take long for the word “frog” to be added to his vocabulary. He doesn’t see them as frequently here, but if we say “Frog!” he puts his nose to the ground and starts looking.
Coyotes
I have never seen these illusive creatures in our neighborhood, but I’ve definitely heard them. It’s quite an eerie experience to be out around 10 o’clock on a moonless night and hear their ruckus.
Murph pays them no mind, but they freak me out. Especially when I can tell they’re very close. Like just across the road that leads into the subdivision. Or in the woods just pass the neighbors’ houses on the other side of the street. And when all of a sudden howls surround me from both those directions, as was the case the other night, well…I tugged Murph behind me as I bolted for the front door. The coyotes might not bother him, but I sure as heck didn’t want to stay outside and give them a chance to bother us. (Yes, Murph did have a chance to go first before I barricaded us inside for the night.)
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