Things that go "jump" in the night

One advantage of living in the country is that night falls quickly: soon after the sun drops behind the hill, thick darkness covers the unlit fields and roads. This is also a disadvantage, as we discovered last night when a walk lasted longer than expected.

We'd been listening to the Cleveland Browns game on the radio until our team's awfulness sent us out of the house. We walked along the creek and up the big horrible hill, and I was just congratulating myself on making it to the top when we encountered a neighbor we don't often see, who invited us into his yard to see his new birds.

Now these were not ordinary run-of-the-mill birds but beautiful golden pheasants and tiny little pocket quail. My husband, whose childhood hobby was poultry husbandry, enjoyed talking chicks with the neighbor while I helpfully reminded Hopeful that the caged birds did not qualify as dog food.

We finally managed to break away only to discover, to our dismay, that the road was verging toward invisible. It's not a particularly safe road in the broad daylight--a steep, narrow track covered with loose gravel and twisting around blind curves--but in the dark it was downright treacherous. My husband's white sweat socks seemed to be glowing in the dark, but Hopeful's black coat blended with the velvety darkness. I worried about traffic, but only one car came by, an immense pickup that blinded us even further with its bright headlights.

We kept trying to pick up the pace so we'd get home before it was completely black outside, but walking downhill on gravel can be a little tricky. I was startled the first time I saw a small patch of darkness detach itself from the road and hop across our path, but it was just a frog--one of many. Why did the frogs cross the road? I don't know, but they were out en masse last night.

The night was quiet aside from the hop-plop of the frogs. It now seems strange that in the five years we've lived in the woods, we've never explored our area in the dead of night. We often hear owls and coyotes at night, but aside from a few bonfires in the meadow, we've never ventured into the night world to see what's out there.

Note to self: next time, take a flash light.