In praise of local critters

OKDad and his wife have a charming tradition: They put pieces of paper with state names in a Ball jar on their anniversary, then reach in and see where they'll be going for their next anniversary. This year, they got our fair Bay State. He chronicles his observations, including amazement at the number of Dunkin' Donuts. Also:

... Massachusetts has a severe lack of roadkill. Which is amazing since the entire state is covered in trees. Trees, to me, means abundant wildlife. Abundant wildlife, to me, means roadkill. And yet, our pristine 4x4 ran over not a single dead dog, cat, coyote, deer, opossum, raccoon, armadillo or other nocturnal marsupial. These yankee varmits could teach our local population a thing or two about the rules of the road. ...