Where’s my rain gauge, Tucker?

I bought a new plastic rain gauge several weeks ago but was unable to deploy it because the ground was frozen and it needed to be either mounted on a post or stuck into the ground.

Not wanting to drive a post, I chose Thursday morning to push its pointy end into the now-soft ground next to the garage door. That’s where I had an identical rain gauge for a few years until its pointy end broke off.

The plan was to accurately measure the near-continuous rain were expecting.

But when I went to check it yesterday morning, it was gone.

I quickly ruled out the neighbor kids, because they know not to mess with our stuff.

Then I remembered Tucker, the red heeler from the house down the hill. Tucker is a playful, friendly little guy who loves to hang out with our Aussies. He and Dora spend hours chasing each other around the perimeter of the chain link fence – him on the outside and her on the inside.

I also noticed he was playing with a small football that the neighbor kids left in their yard.

So, of course, he would think a rain gauge was something provided for his entertainment.

I confronted him when I returned from the post office this morning. He admitted nothing, but was unusually skittish and had a decidedly guilty look.