in the wilderness, or, how we maybe got the hantavirus.

OK, I have been slacking on the blog the past few weeks, but things have been crazy. One of the fun events being that cousin Matt came to see us from California. We had a wonderful time! I took him up to the top of Angel's Rest to catch a nice view of the Columbia River Gorge. We were up at the top, having a snack, and this brave little chipmunk kept practically running over the tops of our shoes. So, what does Matt do? He bends down and puts his hand out, with an almond in the palm of it, to feed the little dude. And what does the little bugger do? Bites him, of course!

Doesn't he look innocent?

I was pretty insistent that we take Matt to the hospital, but he protested and said "No! Nothing happened the last time an animal bit me." I said "you mean you've done this before?" Turns out, he's been bitten two OTHER times by wild rodents. The first time as a kid when a squirrel attacked him, resulting in rabies shots, and the second time in college... doing the EXACT same thing he was doing when this guy bit him.

Anyway, that was a week ago, and he seems to have survived. I wasn't so much worried about rabies as I was about some sort of chipmunk fever or bringing the plague back. He's gone to see his folks and hasn't come down with any strange diseases... yet. I know, there's some kind of joke in here about squirrels and Nutts... just let it go, man.