Wild Kingdom

Took the dogs outside for their final outing of the night and they almost bolted on me.  My voice interrupted them enough to stop them, but then they were busily sniffing under the car.  As I caught up to them, I heard some rustling under a bush.

My first thought was that the cat was there.  I went over to the bush and heard more rustling and, for some reason I cannot quite explain, I realized that it wasn’t a cat.  Probably because the cat would not have continued moving and risking getting the dog’s further attention.

I looked under the bush, but whatever critter it was had scurried off.  Curiosity had taken over now so I went in the house and grabbed a flashlight.  I figured a quick look around the porch and under the other bushes would be worth the effort.

On the end if the porch, hiding down behind a holly I found the little rascal:

Not exactly its best side.  Here’s a better one:

It’s a juvenile, probably only 8 inches or so long.  Must of caught him at a bad time when I let the dogs out.  Wonder if his Mom is looking for him.