1 in a million shot

A few things to report. I've been busy applying for jobs. I think I've applied for 8 in the last week. Still no offers for interviews but I have been contacted for follow-up information from Clemson and Binghamton University. That's promising. That means at least I made the first cut.
Christine's Uncle Terry and Aunt Susie dropped by for a short visit on Saturday. They were in DC for a meeting and decided to drive over to Annapolis and meet us for dinner and to see the annual Christmas boat parade. It was great to see them and it gave Christine and I the motivation to really clean the house from top to bottom.

Here's a picture from last year's parade. I was too lazy to bring the camera this year.

Now for a funny story. Sunday I was outside playing fetch with the dog. I threw the ball over the high bank in the back yard like I always do and the dog took off like she always does, except she didn't come back. I could hear her running around so I figured she must have lost the ball so I went to help her find it. After I scrambled down the bank (about 20 near vertical feet straight down) I was standing with the dog. I noticed as she was running around she kept stopping and sniffing at a small 6" round hole in the ground so I went to investigate. I got a 2' long stick and stuck it in the hole and didn't hit bottom. I got a 6' long stick and it didn't hit bottom either. "Hmmmmm???," I thought. I figured it was highly unlikely that I threw the ball from 100' away and it went in a hole 6" around. I never was all that good at basketball, but the dog sure did seem interested in that hole. I climbed back up the bank and retrieved a shovel and started widening the hole. The dog was getting really excited about all this digging and started to help. I had to shoo her away, because I didn't know what might be living in this hole. About this time Christine decided she should come see what we were doing so she scrambled / waddled down the embankment to see what all the fuss was about. About this time I figured out that what I had found was the back door to an old retired beaver den. It was full of moldy, old, chewed up sticks. I pulled some of the sticks out of the way and made the hole a little wider and told the dog to "Go get it girl" and after a little coaxing she disappeared into the hole. All you could see was the very tip of her tail. When she came back out, she was covered in dirt and mud, but she had her toy in her mouth and was just ever so pleased with herself.