POD "A Traditional Welcome Gift"

Well! After a really, really, LONG 9 hr flight on an uncomfortable C17, (it'd be a pretty long trip even if I WASN'T six months pregnant!) I arrived safely in Dover. I crashed for a few hours and in the morning taxied it to my waiting rental car. I drove an hour to Philly and caught a flight to Manchester. STILL, I wasnt't home. Mom was there to pick me up and drive me the last 2 hours home to our spot on the mountain in good 'ol Maine. PHEW! So good to finally be at my destination. I cannot believe that coming up the steep driveway to the house, there are still patches of dirty springtime snow left over from the once tall banks that were there this winter!

Anyway, upon our arrival home, my mother, already inside the house, told me that she had my Maine photo of the day. You see, apparently the cats or dogs (or both???) were so excited to have me coming home that they pulled together and left me a traditional welcome gift. How thoughtful?! It was placed neatly, well, SEMIneatly in its gift bowl on the kitchen table. I bet they were grateful in the morning when my mom put the doggy door in for them. It was the ONLY way their plans of surprising me wouldn't be spoiled!
Poor bird. I told my mom to make sure it was dead. She tried to comfort me by telling me that it was probably dead when they brought it in the house. She was lying. Let's be honest, my UNH crime scene investigating friends, if this doesn't scream "signs of a struggle," I don't know what does.
I was grateful for the VERY generous traditional welcome gift, but we just went ahead and disposed of it when they weren't looking. :)