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]