The Neighborhood

My son saw a swarm of bees entering a neighbor's shed. A dead roof rat was found in our backyard.

This place is turning into Wild Kingdom.

I talked to the neighbor. He seemed nonchalant about the bees but that's his nature. A rhino could be on his front porch and he wouldn't fret. It's a skill.

This is our second roof rat. We don't have citrus and so I suspect the rat migrated from someone's orchard in order to find a pleasant place to expire. The Roof Rat's Burial Ground.

I didn't see the rat - my wife and son performed last rites - but I found the first one; a big sucker who looked as if he'd wandered back in time from The Great Plague. I threw him in the dumpster before alerting my wife. A plague enthusiast, she was disappointed that she didn't get a look. Well, she got her wish with this recent one.

Better a dead roof rat than a swarm of bees.

I miss the coyotes but they're probably out there, lurking. Waiting for us to let down our guard.

Wild Kingdom.

[Update: Althouse spots a fox.]