The Armadillo Trot

27 AUG 2020

Boom! A tree crashes not much farther than I can throw, yet La, la, la, Sip, sip, sip, Mr. ‘Dilla drinks from a puddle. Like sprinkling salt over gumbo, rain taps his puddle, the rhythm fast as his tongue. Yet, no hurry, he just drinks that way. He’s at ease as Hurricane Laura’s outer rain bands swirl overhead. Now he scuttles a wee bit farther from my trap, sniffs some St. Augustine grass, and eases over the turf. Stop. Up points his nostrils. Ahhhhh, fresh worms. He throttles to a trot, the woods so close he doesn’t tire. I know you’ve seen a fox trot, but have you ever seen the ‘Dilla Trot? If not I posted it today on Facebook.

I’d rather that armadillo dig his nightly earthworm portion from the woods, not my garden. And, don’t worry, my trap is a humane one. I bought it. If I made one, my first thought would be to form crawfish wire into the shape of a large animal trap. Crawfish wire is quite useful that way. Crawfish wire controls our snake problems. I hang my Louisiana Art from a display made of crawfish wire. I may figure a way to write this blog on crawfish wire. If an enemy fabricates a voodoo doll of me, the doll would have to be formed of crawfish wire. That’s my secret, so don’t tell anyone that a roll of wire sits on my deck, ready for any creative project. What's that got to do with a 'Dilla? Everything. Muses of all sorts inspire me, and today it's an armadillo.

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