Pop goes the weasel

A couple of weeks ago I noticed, when walking the dogs, a freshly-dead badger on the verge by the road. At this stage it was almost completely unoffensive, but as the days went on - this was during the recent warm weather - it began to change. As the process of decomposition advanced it not only began to stink (a smell that can never be mistaken for anything else) but also the gases trapped within made it start to balloon. It was fascinating – from lying on its side it ended up on its back with its legs in the air, looking just like a stuffed toy. But it was at this stage I began to get nervous walking past it; I didn’t want to be in the vicinity if it went pop. Luckily (?) the weather cooled again and the grasses and hedge-parsley have grown up around it, and it’s now invisible (although the smell lingers). Soon the verges will be mown by a tractor flail to ease visibility for motorists … it could be very messy …