On Saturday, we headed to Samsonville for the weekend. My sister was hosting a barbecue, and she said it would start at 2-ish. We managed to get to S'ville shortly after 2, and I was so happy that the rain stopped, the skies cleared, and if we hurried with our "opening" procedure, we'd get to the festivities at about 2:30.

Usually Bob patrols the yard when we first arrive, checking for problems with the fence and to warn unsuspecting critters that the Beagles are coming. We leave their harnesses on, and I generally stand on the deck and watch them when they go out to prowl the initial time. (They don't routinely wear their harnesses when they are in either house or yard because of this.)

But on Saturday we were in a hurry, so Bob brought Rosie and Harry (and Teddy) in the house, took off their harnesses, and let them out into the yard. We unloaded the Mariner, and I went into the bathroom. Bob called the animals inside. Rosie and Teddy came in, but Harry was nowhere do be found. Bob noticed a hole in the fence.

We frantically ran up the driveway and searched the nearby woods, calling him. We scoured the yard and looked under the sheds (a haven for groundhogs). There was no sign of him. Eventually Bob jumped in the Mariner and drove around, while I continued walking the driveway. When Bob came back, we stood in the driveway and talked about what we were going to do next. Right then, our escapee trotted up the driveway. We were so relieved! Suddenly, we both noticed something and simultaneously said "eww!"  Harry was holding a dead squirrel!We didn't scold him of course, as we were so happy he came back. We yelled "leave it!" and determined it was road kill -- there had been one in the road not too far from the driveway that was now gone.

Bob fixed the fence and we got to my sister's house at 4-ish. It seems Harry took Independence Day a little too literally!