Living Poop

Before winter Matt and I were outside talking and we noticed that Barkley, our then 6 month old puppy, was in the back yard trying to play with something that was moving. He would put his snout down to the ground and whip his head back up while he jumped his front paws around. Matt and I both guessed it was a frog because it's the way he acted days before with a frog in the driveway. Rearing his head back when the frog jumped away, or "at him" as he thought to play. Judging by the continued pawing and jumping Matt told Kyle to go save the frog from Barkley's torturing. 

Kyle, who likes the frogs in the yard, trudged through the yard to try to get the frog and not upset Barkley, who might turn and jump on him and place him on the ground for taking 'his toy!' Kyle began looking all around but acting like he couldn't see the frog. Matt and I both said, "oh Kyle just get it, it's a frog, it's right there!" He hollered back up, that he didn't see a frog! At this point, I'm thinking, oh great, now he doesn't want to touch frogs. I wonder what his older brother said that caused this. Matt and I are pointing to the area in the yard that the dog is jumping around, where he can see the movement in the grass and Kyle was still so adamant that he couldn't see a frog. 

All at once we were all looking at the same spot and it moved, Kyle yelled that it's not a frog! Matt asked him what it was if not a frog? Then Matt turns to me and he was asking me as much as himself "Is it a snake? It's probably a tiny snake. Go see if it's a snake." I started to walk towards Kyle and Matt told me to get the shovel, I laughed out loud. I may be walking to see what it is, but I am certainly not touching it, killing it, moving it; I'm just looking. At this point Kyle was walking back up to us and Matt asked him again, "well...what is it?"

Kyle looked right back at him and with all the seriousness in the world says,

    "I'll tell you what it is, I'll tell you...It's living poop! It's not a frog, it's not a snake, it's living poop!"

I busted out laughing, like uncontrollably laughing. Kyle did not think it was funny and looked at me like I was out of my mind for laughing about this. I laughed so hard my face hurt and I had tears in my eyes because he was so serious and confident that he discovered what it was. 

Matt's like what is he talking about, laughing at me because while it was funny to him too, my bent over holding my belly while Kyle looked perturbed was quite the scene. I mean, Kyle was so positive. 

Matt grabbed the shovel and we both walked/jogged to discover what 'living poop' looked like. 

For all of you that don't know what 'living poop' looks like...well...it looks like a ground mole!

I guess that's just what a day living in the country can look like.