The night of the Pericote

Online, there seems to be no picture anything like the pericote visiting the other night! Online you will find pictures of these cute little animals the size of a kiwi fruit. So what is a pericote? The closest thing I've ever seen to it were the dark rats scurrying under the subway lines between trains at the 59th street station in New York. Got it? Now make it twice as big.

It sounded like there was a dog eating from a plastic bowl outside. The only thing I could think of was some passing dog had wanted to explore the bucket of clothespins. But it just didn't sound right... And then again. Hmmm? Turning the light on in the kitchen made the noise stop. Turn off the light, there it was again. Light on, no sound. Light off, plastic rustling. So, standing on the table I looked onto the top of the closets, and there it was: huge, and ratlike. It bumbled off up onto the eaves, which are exposed as the final ceiling hasn't been put in, over the top of the roof, crossed to the living room, went down the other side and disappeared. Well, that's it, peace....one would have thought. I had just cleaned up there last week, so I knew there wasn't anything up there he might be interested in. Lights out...

About a quarter of an hour later, plastic rustling.... at this point, I probably should confess to having become very good with a slingshot, as being able to disperse loose and threatening dogs along the back lanes is a good talent to have handy when one cycles. And as autumn sets in and the acorns are falling, there was a stash just by the door.... besides I don't want to kill the thing, I don't like to kill anything, just send it on it's way. It got the message, set off with an acorn tattoo, and hasn't been back. What had it found so interesting? A plastic bottle filled with ant spray that it managed to gnaw or claw its way into! It seems that word gets around in the community and there have been no further visitors.... perhaps Finca Mingo pericote hospitality just isn't up to much these days.