I woke with a heavy heart about 4:00AM. It was just beginning to get light, and for some reason, I had a nagging feeling about today, maybe it was just the length of the day, and the driving involved. Regardless, I sent up a prayer, and knew I had another 90 minutes of sleep, and rolled over. When the alarm went off, the nagging was still there--so again, I talked to the main man, and went about getting ready for the day.
I left at 7am, and headed up I-5--traffic was traveling well, and when the lanes opened from 3 to 2, I took the outer left lane to pass a large semi. Now, for those of you that know me, know that between a cement wall and a semi truck is not my favorite place to be, but the road was dry, traffic was moving well, and off I went, traveling somewhere between 72 and 75 mph. Just as I was passing the cab of the truck next to me, my eye caught a HUGE red tailed hawk coming up from the other side of the road, and as he cleared the cement median strip I had enough time to think "There is no way he's going to clear me, and I'm going to hit him", before I shielded the side of my face, and he hit the truck. I was sure the force that I hit him with, and the way he was flying, that he would end up in my lap. He did hit the driver side window, but not before hitting the side mirror.....which was a blessing, as it took the impact, glass shattered everywhere as well as the mirror casement breaking off the side of the truck. They are supposed to be "breakaway mirrors" , but this was a bit excessive!! He did hit the window, and then was thrown off the side of the truck. My main focus at that time was "Stay in your lane, regardless of what happens" and only after I finished passing the truck did I realize that he did not come in the window as I thought, but man, was it loud! I can't even imagine the sound of being inside a car when there is a big accident. Not something I ever want to hear! I did attempt to get over three lanes to pull over, which at almost 8am just outside of Salem was an impossible task....so I cried in the fast lane, all the way to my exit! There was no where to pull off to check the damage to the truck, or to check on the bird. I'm pretty confident with as hard as he hit, that he was instantly killed. Thankfully, I was only one exit from my destination, where Brady rescued me with a pair of wire cutters, and a large knife to cut away what was left of the mirror casement, which was only hanging on by wires. There are a few "claw mark scratches " on the side of the truck, where he made his last attempt to grab or push, but other than the mirror, and a very shaken Mom, I am praising God for my safety, as the things that "could" have happened became very vivid, very quickly. The glass washed away from the side of the truck (I'm not sure if you've seen a automotive mirror shatter, but it's in one million little sticky flecks) as it rained, as well as the last "dropping" from the bird....and by the time I got home, my only evidence of my event were some scratches, a broken mirror, and a very upset stomach. Needless to say, I called work, and told them I was heading home, as I'd had enough excitement for one day!
The Mirrorless Truck!
The few scratches from talons
The only damage from the mirror to the door
Close up of talon scratch
The poor Mirror
On the humorous side of things--we found a mouse in the trailer yesterday (or should I say evidence--the stinker ate my chocolate kisses!!). I set a trap last night, and this morning, he was a victim of the peanut butter mouse trap! This led to a full cleaning of the cupboards, rewashing dishes, and washing linens. I found it hilarious when I found his stash--in the coffee pot!!
Every mouse needs a bunch of chocolate, two pistachios and a piece of cracker!
I'm not sure how he got back out of there after depositing his goodies, but he made more than one trip, and I'm still baffled how he broke the Hershey bar for transportation??!!
1 comment:
Pretty resourceful mouse!!!! Too funny!
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