I turned quietly and crept back to the house, poking my head in the door to beckon John, without much hope that our little 'dillo would still be there when we got back.
He was. In fact, he didn't seem the least bit disturbed by our presence, or the fact that it was broad daylight out. So I ran back to get my camera.
He did glance back at me once, when he heard the clicking of the camera, and I got poised to skee-daddle, but then he just went right back to what he was doing. Eventually I went downstairs to water the Cantina Garden, certain he would be gone when I returned.
He was not. He had merely moved to the opposite side of the terrace, and added a half-dozen new holes to the beds there. Finally it occurred to me that it might be best to run him off, before he made himself any more at home. I pulled out the hose, set it on "jet stream", and aimed it straight at him. Did he jump and run? No, he did not. All he did was waddle to the side an inch or two, then return to his digging. Oh my stars, this was one determined 'dillo!
Though he was completely unflappable, I did eventually figure out that with repeated squirts from my hose, he was somewhat "herdable", and in this way, I finally managed to mosey him off into the woods behind our house. Did he stay there? Well, that remains to be seen.
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4 comments:
He's cute! I've never seen one of those before!
I've never been this up close and personal myself, and I was born and raised here! I'm guessing he/she's pretty young, judging from the small size and softish shell. Maybe his momma became road kill before she had a chance to teach him about staying away from us humans.
My grandmother lives out in the sticks near Houston and she's covered up in armadillos. They're out at all times of the day now trying to get water. I was visiting her week before last and was sitting on the porch when 2 of them came out of the brush and came within 5 feet of me searching for bugs and water. Didn't even seem to mind me out there with them.
We keep a few dishes of water out under some of the trees and bushes for all the 'dillos, raccoons, possums, and squirrels. Poor little guys.
Hi UsefulMom. Thanks for stopping by! Yeah, I was wondering if it didn't have something to do with the drought. We've had this place for almost seven years now, and this is the first time we've ever had one come this close to the house in broad daylight. I bet the cool soil under that overturned pot was just full of delicious bugs and moisture!
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