I was up last night, well really this morning as it was 00:35hr on Monday morning, to use the WC. As I was heading out of the WC I noticed light coming through the office window and remembered that I had closed the shutters when we’d come home from town, but I had apparently forgotten to latch them when I got in the house. I went over to the window and opened it. As I started to lean out to reach for the shutter I saw two rather large animals in the yard. They appeared to be identical in size and shape and my first thought was “great somebody’s dogs are out and they’re going to knock over my garbage can”. Then I noticed their girth and thought, “Either those are some really fat and low to the ground dogs or they’re…sheep”. Sheep, how cute, someone’s sheep have escaped and they’re grazing in my front yard. I lean out and reach for the shutter when the ‘sheep’ close ranks, butt to butt facing me and heads lowered. Then one of them begins this low porcine growl and I realize that they are BOARS.
Not bores, like your freshman English teacher. Not boors like the people you spend all your time avoiding at the company picnic. Boars as in brown bristly creatures, as in boar bristle brushes, as in Pumba in ‘The Lion King’ (Only not animated).
I sprint through the office across the hall and into the bedroom where I stage whisper ‘Are you asleep’ to S. Of course the man is asleep he’s buried as deep as he can get under the covers and he has a pillow over his head (as if anticipating my intrusion). He sits up slowly and mumbles something incoherent.
“Come here, you HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS”. He has to see it because if he doesn’t he won’t believe me in the morning.
He stumbles out of bed “Do I need my glasses?”
I want you to SEE …”Yes!”
I sprint back toward the window and turn to see that S has wandered sleepily into the WC.
“Not in there, come here to the window" I hiss.
He makes it to the window in time to see the two creatures trotting down our driveway and into the street.
“Bears” he mumbles groggily.
“Boars” I correct his already retreating sleepy back. I wonder if he ever even woke up. He won’t remember this in the morning.
I pull the shutter closed and latch it and then close the window. Thinking to myself “I’ve never seen anything like that”. It reminds me of “The Lord of the Flies”. Well except that we’re not young boys and we’re not trapped on a deserted island and, well, we haven’t pegged someone's head into the ground atop a spear (yet). Ok, not like “The Lord of the Flies” at all but for some reason it was the first thing that popped to mind. There were boars in that book weren’t there?
Where did they come from? Wild or Domestic? And what were they doing out there? Looking for truffles?
