Armadillo Hunt

And so it continues, my Florida adventures...the Armadillo Quest. I have always wanted to see an Armadillo. Grandma said that you don't really see them that often. Occasionally as road kill, but mostly just by the signs they leave behind, AKA the annoying little holes in Grandma's yard. I kept my eyes peeled on our excursions, but had no luck. Newsflash! Armadillos are nocturnal. Who knew? So a few nights I looked outside near the front door to see if I could spot one. Grandma suggested that I wasn't finding one because I needed to be calling out 'here, Armadillo, heeeeeere!' I think that was more a sarcastic attempt to get me to make a fool out of myself, but you be the judge. On Saturday night I decided to do a little walking. I happened to be in my pajamas and bare feet, but no matter. It was dark, and after dark in a retirement community equals ghost town. So I wandered about, looking for armadillos. Just on the off chance that one would be wandering around, I wanted to see it! On my walk, I spotted a few tree frogs and a toad. Not exactly what I was going for. I got toward the golf course and away from the lights. I figured that was the best place to look, though I was getting a little creeped out at that point, mainly because I couldn't see a thing. Then, I saw a shadow right behind me. Eek! I turned around quickly, expecting someone to be standing there. Instead, two street lamps were playing tricks on me, casting my shadow at varying angles. After that, I decided to call it a day and go back before I stepped on an alligator and peed my pants. I never did spot my armadillo.

P.S. I did ask Grandma if she would care if I took her golf cart out at midnight to spotlight armadillos, and she said yes, but I decided that sleep was more important than a misguided late night joyride in a golf cart looking for illusive armadillos. Beside, how would I explain that one to the security people?

P.P.S. There are a plethora of geckos down there, which I happen to think are cool but Grandma HATES them. Every time we go in and out, we have to make sure not to let any geckos in. She keeps a designated vacuum in her house for the sole purpose of sucking up any trespassing amphibians. Once the offender is safely stowed away in the vacuum bag, she covers the end of the hose for several days to make sure it doesn't get out before it dies.