The Badger September 30, 2012

The past two weekends produced badger sightings in the pasture, but I caught only a glimpse of him on his second visit.  Still, I was not convinced, especially after checking up on badger descriptions at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.  The critter I witnessed had the right shape and waddle, but in silhouette he appeared to my eyes as having a stubby conical tail, reminding me of the old Prussian Pickelhaube helmets.  Badgers’ tails, according to the field guides, are furry.  

And so, I hunkered down for an afternoon of some serious badger observation.  I set up a station on my deck, including yesterday’s unread newspaper, a few New Yorkers, my journal, a pen, a cup of ice coffee, and most important, a pair of hefty binoculars, inherited from my grandfather, covers off and at the ready. 

I was joined by the great blue heron who often visits and stays for a while.  He caught a gopher and as he was struggling to swallow it, a red-tailed hawk swooped in to steal it.  I waited to see the heron snare another gopher and outwit the hawk.  Now I had two reasons to be patient.

As 2 pm turned to 3 and then 4, I started to grow restless, especially as the sun was hot.  I turned to my current craft obsession, attempting to weave lavender wands from my lavandula with colorful ribbons.  I was starting to get the hang of it, as the heron gave up and moved on.  5 pm, 6 pm.  By 6:30 the sun fell behind the trees along the ridge, shooting off a fat apricot triangle of light on the hillside. 

I cleaned my coffee cup, loaded a few things into the car, and ate a bit of the blackberry-apple crisp I had made the day before, when just then, at ten minutes to 7, I saw him.  I took up the binoculars and balanced my elbows on the deck’s railing.  Flat and elliptical was his body, white-striped with an upturned nose was his face, dark and squat were his legs, and yes, from a rear view, red and bushy was his tail.  The American badger, and my patience rewarded.