A murder mystery at the farm

When you live in the country or on a large plot of land, or work in a law or marketing firm, you often bear witness to the predatory behaviors of animals.  Such was the case Friday morning.

It was a cold snowy morning. Fresh snow blanketed the grounds giving the appearance of tranquility. But nothing could be further from the truth. For, just a few paces from our deck lay a once very alive and hopping bunny. Now a crumpled heap partially frozen on the ground.

Who could have done such a thing? Why kill and leave the body? Shameful!  Lynn and I sequestered and questioned all of the animals. No one was talking. Not even Ruby. Not even under the threat of no more chew treats.

We circled the corpse in an effort to see the prints of the elusive and vile killer. AHA. We saw prints. First we recognized the markings of the deceased. Running to the deck and out from the deck, where, he met his untimely demise. And one other set of tracks. A pair of them side by side, in a group of three. We widened  the perimeter of our search to determine the point of entry into the yard. Yet there were none.

“How could this be?”, Lynn asked. “Where did it come from? Who was here? And why leave the body?” So many questioned being fired at me prior to coffee. Not cool, even under the gravest of circumstances. But alas, my keen and brilliant mind immediately surmised the who, the where, and the why. Have you figured it out?

Well, I was privy to a little more information than you. Last week, while outside at night, I heard the who. No literally, it was a hoo, hoo, hoo. Apparently we have a Mr. or Ms. Owl lurking about the property. More than likely the predator got interrupted at 4:30am by Lynn and the dogs and had to leave the food. Nothing worse than sitting down for a good meal just to be disturbed.

And although we were sad for the deceased, we understand. And now, more than likely I will obsess over wanting to spot our new owl friend. A chance to use my new night vision monocular that Lynn gave me for Christmas. Too cool for words.