Last week, as I told of My Unlikely Encounter with a Porcupine, we left off with this darling, quilly little girl trotting through the deep woods as I skipped home filled with wonderment at our chance meeting. But that’s not the end of the story…
On an overcast Saturday afternoon, a dark, waddling shadow under the apple trees caught my husband Tim’s eye. “Hey. Your friend is back!”
I ran to the window. There she was, face-first in a shiny, red, fallen apple on the lawn, circling around it as she ate, not a care in the world. Unable to hold onto the fruit, she sank her long teeth into the ruby red flesh, re-angling for every bite. When only a bright white core was left, she abandoned it for the next apple.
I raced for the camera but there was no rush. This porcupine wasn’t going anywhere.
From the couch, Shamus, our Newf, glued his eyes on the spiky spectacle dancing through the plethora of Macintosh (his favorite food). Tim sat with him as I filmed, filling the camera with repeat rounds of circular porcupine paths. This went on so long, Shamus laid down at some point, dizzied by the crazy apple spinning, and Tim and I went back to watching television. On occasion, we’d check to see if she was still there, and she always was.
As daylight faded to night, we looked once more. The porcupine’s front paws walked up the apple tree’s trunk as she considered overnighting near the perfect breakfast spot. Almost immediately, she changed direction, hobbling a bit off kilter. Was she drunk? Her belly was certainly chock-full of fermented applesauce.
In a moment of clarity, she opted for the cover of the woods and, as she made her way, I silently thanked her for another visit, this time in the company of my family.
So amazing that you got to see that! Who knew porcupines were so adorable? 🙂 (Not that I’d want to shake hands with one!)
I know, right? I feel so unbelievably lucky! As for the hands, even with those giant claws, I think I’d rather shake hands than pat her head. 🙂
Squeeeeee! She is so woofing cute! I love the way she just wobbles around. Thank you so much for sharing this bit of spiky adorableness!
I do hope you’ll check out the following post. This last video is the best. You have to see her shake like a dog!
I can’t get over how cute she is! I do wonder if she was a little tipsy as she wobbled off.
Well, that part of the story is coming up…
Very sweet Kim! This post starts my morning off cheery.
Cheery Mondays are a good thing, Michele. Glad you enjoyed!
What a cutie! Shamus looks ginormous in that picture 🙂 Good thing he hasn’t had any surprise meetings with the cute little porcupine!!
We were VERY lucky, indeed! More about that in my next post… And yeah, Shamus’ head is HUGE from that point of view. Crazy!
Wow, good thing there wasn’t a close encounter. OUCH!
Agreed! It was a “close enough” encounter.
What a delightful way to begin my day. I am so glad I came across the tweet that led me to your site! Thank you for your blog