My first piece of luck was noticing this pocket gopher tunneling beneath a busy little park with people coming and going apparently unaware of his home building project. My second piece of luck was our mutual curiosity as he sniffed and eyed my crouching form and lingered above ground long enough to give me the impression we were studying each other.

I can relate to the alone time pocket gophers are said to enjoy, as well as their love of burrowing. And their subterranean homes are kind of like ours, with deep chambers for sleeping, food storage, and relieving themselves.

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