Hello, Sheriff

It's been a wonderful morning. Some lingering snow on the ground. Lemur opened her birthday gifts and the girls have been having fun playing with them. While doing dishes I noticed more than a dozen blue jays and robins were flitting around searching for food. I sent the older two out to feed them the last of our bird seed.

We had a nice accumulation of trash by the front door seeing as we've been holed up inside since Monday expecting the blizzard that wasn't. Chris set to taking the bags out while I worked on Lemur's cake. Pic to come once it's done. I got a call from my mother-in-law asking when we'd be having Lemur's party. While talking to her Chris comes in and tells me I need to get off the phone. I tell her something is wrong and I had to go. I'm picturing something awful outside: Hooch didn't come inside last night. Is he dead? Did Chris overhear something happening at a neighbor's house? Is someone being beaten or killed? Worse yet, a vagrant hid out in our barn for warmth and there's a body in the barn?!

Time out! See these are the things that go through a mother's head. All those times your mom told you not to do things, this is why. She can take the simplest thing and turn it into a million disaster scenarios from the realistic to absurd. Okay, time out over.

" Someone set our trash can on fire."
" Our trash can's on fire?!"
" No, it's burnt."

Thank you mister melodramatic.... Apparently this happened sometime over the last couple of days:

Chris called the sheriff. They sent a deputy out pretty quick. Good to know if we ever need them they can get here in a timely manner, even though he did pass our house twice before finally reading the numbers on the mailbox.

So, place your bets. Arson, accidental, or mechanical failure? It may have been drunk idiots being funny. It could be someone threw something in our can that was still burning. I have noticed some trash that was not ours before, so that is possible. Or could it be that the electrical lines above it sparked. I find it curious the grass outside is scorched, but only half the dumpster burned.

Who knows? Lets hope if it was arson that the people have a vendetta for our neighbor and not us. It could have easily burned the trees around our neighbor's home, it is unlikely it would have effected any of our property other than the dumpster. So for my friends out there who think I'm a little off my rocker for being paranoid about living in the country. Here's proof, it's not all in my head.