Visiting A Big Village Creek Turtle After Zelda Del West Gave Me An Armadillo Leprosy Warning

Today I was visiting the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area, blissfully enjoying the peaceful serenity I get from gazing out at the Village Creek Blue Bayou, when I looked down to be startled by the big turtle you see in the picture, looking up at me.

This turtle was unusually un-skittish. The big guy just sat there winking at me.

Last Sunday I mentioned that I was hunting for an armadillo in the Village Creek zone, for lunch, after having read that armadillos were considered a delicacy, by some, in Texas, back during the Great Depression, calling the cute critters Hoover Hogs.

I then heard from Zelda del West, who recently escaped Texas, after a multi-year exile, to now reside in Walla Walla, Washington, from whence she informed me that "...you can make an armadillo into stew using it's own armor as the pot. You should be nice to armadillos. They can also give you leprosy."

If I felt the need to be nice to all the various things from which I might catch leprosy I would exhaust myself, daily, from excessive niceness.

As for the Village Creek NHA armadillos,  I saw nary a one, again, today. Where have all the armadillos gone?

I did see an Arlington animal control officer releasing some possums from his animal control truck. I have seen this multiple times at this location. He picks the possums up by their tails, places them on the ground,  where they quickly scurry away, never to be seen, by me, again.

The closest I think I've come to a heart attack was years ago, in Mount Vernon, a town on the other side of the Cascade Mountains from Walla Walla, where a possum jumped out of my garbage can whilst I was depositing some garbage.

I know someone in Tacoma who had a horrible possum infestation in her basement. The possum infestation was so insidious that the lady moved to a new possum free location. It would not shock me to learn that the possums followed her there. Because it is well know that possums love chocolate...

Watching Possums Escape To Village Creek After Botching Butchering A Chicken While Getting Ready To Roast Hatch Chiles

Village Creek Blue Bayou

The Village Creek Natural Historical Area's Blue Bayou was back being mostly blue today, back blue after its recent iterations as the Brown Bayou, then the Green Bayou.

I like my bayous blue.

When I arrived at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's parking lot I saw an Arlington Animal Control truck parked. Past experience with seeing that truck led me to think I was about to see a possum released back into the natural world.

This time it was 2 possums. The Animal Control guy lifted 2 possums from their possum cage, by the tail, with gloved hands. It seems to me possums would be being a bit feisty after having been trapped in a cage, then hauled in a truck, then picked up by their tails.

But the possums act like they are not at all bothered. The Animal Control guy sets them gently on the ground and waves goodbye as the possums scurry back to freedom.

Changing the subject from possums to chickens.

Last week I cut up a whole chicken for the first time since some time in August of 2008. My sister had tasked me with teaching my future sister-in-law how to cut up a chicken. There were 2 to cut-up. I showed how with the first, then my student cut up the second.

The chicken I cut up last week was a bit difficult. I sort of had to saw it a few times. This morning I cut up another chicken and I realized why it was so easy to slice a bird in Tacoma and so difficult in Texas.

I have crummy knives.

I have always been a bit of a hazard with knives. I've sliced myself a time or two or three. I'd come to think a dull knife is safer for me. But, after this morning's bizarrely botched butchering I'm thinking I need to get myself a good sharp knife. I don't think what I was doing this morning was safe. That and somehow the chicken's back ended up with one of the thigh pieces attached by the time I was finished. This made for an interesting piece of chicken. I have not been able to determine where the drumstick part of one of the wings ended up being.

Changing the subject again, this time from chicken to Hatch chiles.

I got myself a bag of Hatch chiles on Sunday at ALDI. Today I Googled to see what I need to do with these chiles and learned I must do something with them soon or they will spoil on me.

So, this afternoon I am going to be roasting myself a bag of Hatch chiles in preparation for tomorrow's attempt to make Chile Rellenos.

This operation should go better than my chicken cutting operation.

I hope.