Monday, March 9, 2015

Black Hole

Walking today in a field at the end of the frog pond trail I spotted a strange darkness under some dried grass.  As I got closer I could see what looked like an old well or a ruined cellar.  The entrance was about 6 x 6' square, bordered by stones;  several old boards were across the opening, but they looked like a cow had walked across what covering had been put there and crashed it.  I leaned over and dropped a stone in but it didn't seem to hit bottom.  I could see about six feet down into pitch black.  The walls of the tunnel were fuzzed with moss, and there was a rusty metal bar that looked like a part of a trapdoor.

What really surprised me was that I've walked in this field many times over the years and never seen anything like this.  Granted the grass is usually knee high, but a walker would certainly notice this makeshift cover.  There was evidence that cows had recently been in the field as the grass was very short and cow pies were all over.  I'm very glad I wasn't walking here in the dark.  I dragged some of the boards closer together to try to block the hole, but it really needs a better covering.  It's not on the campus, and the man who owns the field is rarely in evidence, lives at the top of the nearby mountain, and doesn't walk his fields.
 Tonight Jesse is lounging on my drawing table, so there's nothing to do but take advantage of his relative stillness and do some sketching.  And as I was doodling around I began to hear the high-pitched song of spring peepers in the ditch along the road out back!

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