Porcupine

 There was a brief conversation the other day with a neighborhood porcupine. The happen to be rodents, rank as the longest living rodents in the world, up to eighteen years and have four defensive mechanisms: quill erection, teeth clattering, odor emission, and attack. A few years ago one was living in one of my woodpiles. It was late fall and perhaps it was a bit sluggish because of the cooler weather but I picked it up with a scoop shovel and carried it far into the woods. Maybe it's come back for a visit.