Why did the chicken.....

   Without a doubt, for those of you reading this, most will be able to finish the sentence. It is one of the age old questions that continues to haunt mankind. Well, maybe not haunt, but, at least over the years, a question that has developed a life of its own. But why?

   The question may be very simple...why does a person or animal cross the road? What is it about the other side of the street that causes one to step off the curb and possibly venture into new territory?

   Now for the animal world it may be a very easy question to answer.

   This morning, for example, on my way to the auction, squirrels darted from property to property, from tree to tree and in all cases they are able to avoid getting hit by a car or truck, except if the driver, coming in the opposite direction toward me, decided that he wanted to hit it and swerved into my lane in an attempt to flatten the little fellow against the pavement, a squirrel pancake. With his focus only on the squirrel, it was a quick maneuver on my part that avoided an accident.

   Just out of town, there was a muskrat-like critter that had gotten himself stuck in the middle of a bridge and it was funny to watch as he raced to find a path across the bridge to safety. I can only imagine how his little heart must have been pounding.

   With late Spring and early Summer finally here, the nights are busy with all kinds of wildlife moving about, skunks being no exception and within about a mile of each other two skunks had failed to navigate beneath the wheels of a vehicle and had met with a sudden and I assume painful death, albeit a rather smelly one, as the scent still hung low in the early morning air. 

   And in case you weren't sure, or had forgotten, skunks don't move very fast, in fact, I think they waddle, so the likelihood of crossing  in front of a fast moving car with success is doubtful and as a driver you can only hope that you saw the skunk with time to avoid contact. Have you ever hit a skunk and then parked your car in your garage?

   Near the river, going to the auction and then later coming home, I passed two turtles as they slowly made their way across the road to get to the other side. 

   In some places turtles are a protected species and often there are even warning sign about Turtles Crossing. Sometimes people will even stop, pick them up and move them out of the busy traffic. The challenge for the turtles is to get safely to their nesting place. The challenge for the human is to not interfere with Mother Nature's  processes.

   Earlier in the week we decided to take a quick trip to Bangor and hopped on Rt 95. Rt 95 is a four lane highway with newly posted speed limit signs of 70 MPH. (Yes. We do have four lane highways in Maine.) About 4 miles from home, appearing to be stranded in the middle of the busy highway, was a turtle, still alive, but... for how long? With cars speeding by in both lanes it was impossible for anyone to stop or even slowdown. If he were fortunate enough to get safely from one side of the highway to the other, he (it was probably a 'she' looking for a nesting area) was one very lucky turtle.

   Crossing streets and busy highway this time of year can be very dangerous and challenging as the amount of roadkill will attest. So, here is a potential word of warning to those who may venture out to cross the road to get to the other side.

   Currently the legislature is in session in Augusta and according to the news reports there is a lot of bickering and fighting taking place this year between the Democrats, Republicans and let's not forget the Governor. Those elected to serve and represent us, yes even the wildlife,  race back and forth between home and the State Capitol almost daily, their minds possibly on things other than their driving.

    My suggestion...Fair warning! Whether you are a turtle, a squirrel, a chicken, a duck,  a skunk, or even a Democrat, Independent, or a Republican, you may want to look both ways (twice) before stepping off the curb and venturing across the busy road or highway in order to “get to the other side.”
   After I had posted this, a friend commented that I had not mentioned the 'turkey',  wild fowl often seen in large numbers in the area. (It's interesting how turkeys, like thinking birds, will hang out together.) I know they are constantly crossing roads and highways, I just haven't seen any here for a while. Perhaps they are all meeting in another part of the state for a while......