Several questions have come up in regard to THE DIGGING GROUNDS.  These
words define an area of some 50 feet by 40 feet on a slight hillside that
is adjacent to a beautiful and bountiful garden and which has a
southwestern exposure.  Tall maples and Douglas Fir trees enclose THE
DIGGING GROUNDS on two sides, a paved cul-de-sac and my house complete
the adjacent surround.
 
This place is located on an island in a lake called Lake Washington.  The
Island of Mercer is permanently connected to the mainland by a fixed bridge
to the east and a very long floating bridge to the west that connects to
the soggy city of Seattle.  The island is about 5 miles long and 1 mile
wide at its middle and is the shape of a human footprint, the toes north
and the heel south.  The island is heavily wooded compared to rain city,
but is being rapidly denuded by an ever increasing influx of wealthy
professionals and Asians.
 
THE DIGGING GROUNDS at one time long ago (18 years or so) was a mildly
sloping lawn.  Now it resembles a World War 1 no-man's land between the
trenches, except there are no machine guns nor barbed wire.  Just lots of
steel posts sticking up akwardly at all angles out of the disturbed earth
and grass.
 
There is a man here who habitually wears an antique WW 1 German helmet and
who just recently bought a German infantryman's 8mm Mauser rifle complete
with bayonet.  Believe it or not, it came from Macedonia.  There is a very
interesting story here about the flood of rifles into this country now from
what formerly was Yugoslavia, due entirely to Clinton's war.  But I digress.
 
In good weather, some 14 ferrets at one time are tethered on 3 foot leash
lines to the 7 steel posts and kits are "earthed" in two bottomless wire
cages under the spreading limbs of rhododendrons and alpine fir trees.
Crows stand sentinal in the surrounding trees and on the roof to await
feeding on the surplus kibble that the staked out ferrets leave uneaten.
One of the crows is my "baby," who I raised and released some few years
ago and who now has a family.
 
Their presence is a godsend since they become extremely vocal and raucous
anytime there is an overflight or a tree landing of a bald eagle or a
red-tailed hawk.  Once aroused by the raptors the crows go into a frenzy
and can be heard for 100's of meters in all directions.  Then the little
steel helmeted man rushes forth and yells, "RAUS!  RAUS!" and the raptor
bird(s), understanding German obviously, dive toward the ground in a
swooping curl and flapping their huge wings beat a hasty retreat with a
dozen or so crows a cawing like crazy in hot pursuit.  The ferrets come
out of their tunnels and blinking in the grey drizzle watch the departing
circus.  Ach ja, denn all qviet on zee Vestern Front iss.
 
The ferrets are harnessed in Figure-8 English made leather harnesses.  The
leash lines are nylon/cotton surveyors cord and are looped on the end, the
end that is dropped over the steel rod.  Thus each ferret has a 6 foot
diameter circle in which to dig, dig, dig, and dig.  By digging they wear
down their claws.  The fresh Mother Earth sifts through their fur.  After
some minutes of excavating their tunnels, they become odorless.  It's quite
amazing how Mother Earth just "washes" away that muskiness which is so
characteristic of the intact ferret.
 
The ferrets remain posted the entire day and sometimes into the night.
It's at night that they come above ground and are intensely alert and
constantly sniffing the air.  This is usually when they get their freshly
made and warm LUMPS.  Their eyes glow iridescently green/blue in any
reflected light and they become "quickened" in intensity, just as one might
imagine the spirit an animal would have as it anticipates a night's hunt
for prey.
 
Then, one by one, under flashlight they are carried or walked into the
ferretarium and their harnesses are removed with much anticipation.  They
cling to the chest overalls of the little man with the helmet and with
their tongues licking a white beard they enjoy a body massage all around
their body where the "tracks" of the harness lie.  Then after about 10
guzzles out of a bottle of Ferretone and 3 or 4 squirts on their abdomens
they are placed into their cages for the night.  The maybe eat a little,
drink some water and then curl up under their nest clothes in their nest
boxes.  The continuous movements under the cloths indicate that they are
licking off the Ferretone on their bellies just before going to sleep.
 
Taps is sounded by the words from the little man with the steel helmet, to
wit: "Schlaffen sie wohl Frettchen." [G.] "Sleep well ferrets."
 
Now you know THE DIGGING GROUNDS at Ferret Endowment for Research,
Rehabilitation, Education & Training Society, NorthWest.  It could very
well be like - no other place on the surface of the earth.  And that it
is, no doubt.
 
Edward Lipinski - the originator of the term: FRETTCHEN~VERGNUEGEN!  [G.]
The JOY of ferrets!
[Posted in FML issue 2723]