I carried my copper bucket full of kitchen scraps out to the compost heap this morning. When I took the pitchfork off its hook just inside the shed door, I accidentally bumped it hard against the wall. Came a softish low sounding groan from the back of the shed that lasted almost two seconds.
This shed, I ought to say, is rickety, and one of these days a small bump will be the one that knocks it over. Assuming the first groan was the shed itself, or some of its contents, shifting as a result of the bump, I deliberately knocked it again to confirm. Came another delayed groan, decidedly animal in nature. Surely not, I thought.
I buried the scraps and returned the fork to its hook. Mooaaaan. I knocked again. Came the moan again. Four incidents of obvious cause and effect were enough for me. I left fast, not wanting to see, hear, or know who was waking up---be it cat, fox, possum, or worse. The mercury showed below the freezing line. Let the creature stay warm and undisturbed. I'd make a terrible farmer.
This, by the way, is a repeat of a similar incident that inspired the beginning of my current manuscript nearly six years ago. dkm
7 comments:
lol - I'd definately have to investigate any moaning in our sheds. How exciting and scary. Though I would probaby run at the first movement I saw. hehe
He-he. That post was for my new NZ friends. Are you back from the depths of NaNoWriMo? And how was it? One member of my writing critique group tried it, and we haven't seen her since :-)
NaNo was good but tiring. Thank goodness no one gets to read it haha. Am catching up on jobs around here now. The garden is so overgrown!!
ooooh! very creepy. fun post.
You don't think your mystery border might be injured??
yikes---I hope not---there were no sounds yesterday in response to my knock---I didn't have nerve to investigate behind the big black plastic bag---the only place an animal could have been hiding.
Others have suggested it might have been a raccoon or skunk, as they are noted for their sounds. But they sound more like chirping birds and less like a moan, I think---but perhaps, if injured ------
I'll get my husband to investigate behind the bag :-)
I try to bury deep but from time to time I wonder who has been in my compost heap; I see raccoons and foxes my back yard but perhaps it is just my old lab looking for a snack. Let us know if you solve the mystery.
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