Fun in the Boonies

The only time we see any law enforcement officers is when our CHP friend is in the neighborhood and stops by to say hi. She did that yesterday.

So imagine my surprise and curiosity when at about 7pm last evening, after listening to Kitty growl for about twenty minutes, I finally got up to see if there was truly something in our yard that shouldn't be there and see several patrol cars, traveling at a slow crawl, lights a blazing on the levee behind us with search lights canvassing the entire area. (For Kitty this is too close, although it is a 700 feet from our backyard to the railroad tracks and another 200 feet to the levee road). I comment to Brandt, well, M (our CHP friend) is chasing a slow driver tonight. Hope she catches him. I return to watch the Kings vs. Bulls on WGN. (I don't like the local play-by-play guy, so watch the Kings on alternate stations when I can.)

Kitty continues to growl. It is a very deep, don't mess with me growl. Soon, Boy, starts growling and barking at something. A patrol car proceeds slowly south on our road, which is currently closed about 3/4 of mile south of here due to flooding. He flashes his search light over the property. Boy runs down the driveway to tell him to stay away. He makes four or five trips in front of the property.

Half-time of the game comes and we have switched back to the local channel for news. Lead Story: "Rescue crews scouring the area between Elverta Road and the county lines for a downed airplane. No other details available." Well, that explains all the patrol cars and fire trucks. By now, the wind is gusting to 50 miles an hour and raining quite steadily. Brandt and I go out and check on Reuben, Luke, Rufus and BJ. All fine. Not happy about all the activity, but fine. Weather explains why they don't have the chopper in the air. Kitty continues to growl. I try to let her know that it is ok, but she isn't happy. And an unhappy 70 pound rottweiller/lab mix that believes she is a 3 pound lap-puppy is not easy to console.

The searching, the lights flashing and shining in our windows continues until nearly 11pm. Maybe those of you who live in the city are used to patrol cars, sirens, search lights until all hours, but for those of us in the boonies, well, its unusual.

Here is a link to the story in the Sacramento Bee. They aren't sure what happened. We may never know. What I do know is Kitty's radar is very good. Relevant, not always, but very accurate.