This Bud's for you.

When I drove into town today, I noticed that there was a dead armadillo along the side of our road that goes up towards the main highway.  On any given week, there could be something on that road that has been either been hit by a car or killed by other animals.  We've seen rabbits, squirrels, snakes, a wild hog, birds, chickens, a cat, possums, a raccoon, and the very unlucky armadillos which seem to get hit most of all.

During the weekday mornings, my friends and I walk from our homes all the way down the winding road to the main highway. Along the way, we give snacks to the neighbors' horses and also look for discarded trash that we pick up with a long clippy-thing. It's such a pretty road and none of us understand why people would want to toss anything out of their windows and have it land in the wildflowers.

So when I saw that armadillo today, I figured that during tomorrow's walk, we would have to move it off of the road edge so it's covered up in the brush. Within a day or so, the vultures will find it and begin their feast. (Right now, about a dozen vultures are busy with a deer that was hit on the main highway... I saw that poor thing while I was driving back from town today.)

But getting to the "Bud" and to the texting that went up and down this road tonight---

This evening, the following texts went back and forth from my phone to a friend's phone:

"Are we walking tomorrow?"
Yes, said I.
"Someone put a beer can in the paws of that dead armadillo. For the record, it was not I."
Me neither.  But should we bring him some chips?
"Leave it to you to think of that... such a good hostess."
Not that good... I forgot the salsa.

To continue along with the story, another friend (also in the walking group) had taken a photo of the dead armadillo clutching the beer can, and she forwarded that photo to us, with the caption "Here lies Erma Dillo."
Within seconds, the first friend texted back: "She had a beer, but nary a pillow."

My final text to my walking friends was this: "If I die on the road, please don't give me a beer can."
To which one texted back: "How about a teapot with lots of sparkles?"
My reply to that was: "Perfect, but no photos."
The first friend texted: "No promises... it may be hard to restrain you-know-who."

I think all the texting is done for the night.... and we'll be laughing about it in the morning. (To protect everyone involved, I didn't even type their initials.)

Honestly.... I couldn't make up this stuff if I tried.