Charlie Strikes Again

Charlie has been enjoying life.  Yesterday he took off during an hour long walk.  Kaia, Tater, and I waited for him, called for him, and then gave up and went home.  When Charlie gets the urge to roam, he usually comes  home within 20 or 30 minutes.  Charlie abandoned us on our walk at 3:15pm.  At 6pm Charlie still wasn't home.  And Ernesto and I started to worry, not only because he usually doesn't leave for such an extended period of time, but also because the puma has been spotted twice on the farm in the past month.

Kaia and Tater, on the other hand, seemed content to have some peace and quiet in the house.  They snuggled and lounged about without having to keep an eye on Charlie, who likes to pounce on both of them whenever he feels the urge to pester, play, or compete for attention.

Ernesto went out looking for him.  Almost everyone had seen Charlie at one point or another during the afternoon - by a small lodge, by the Cheese Factory, by the grocery store.  Finally Ernesto found him near Sta. Elena, far from his normal (or what we hear is his normal) stomping ground.  We were not happy.  But Charlie was.  He was also tired, snoring so loudly last night I had trouble falling to sleep.

Two days ago, I found a 7-8 inch long green spiny lizard in our kitchen.  These are gorgeous lizards with a green and blue irridescent skin.  I took a picture of it, not knowing that it would be this little guy's last. I was just putting the camera down (and getting ready to catch it), when Charlie tore into the house, spotted the lizard (Tater, Kaia, and I had all been watching it), and began to chase it under the kitchen table.  Slipping and sliding on the tile, he still managed to get some part of the lizard in his mouth, flinging it across the room as I screamed for him to stop.  The lizard was not very fast, and Charlie again caught him.  I only caught a glimpse of a beautiful blue tail dangling from Charlie's mouth beforeCharlie went dashing up the trail, presumably to hide his treasure along with the countless rawhide bones, socks, and toys that he hoards somewhere in the forest.