Had to pull the truck over on the side of 280 yesterday, near Atascadero exit in Palo Alto. Sophia wanted Prince tickets for her birthday and we risked dropping the cell call.
I step over the guardrail and walk back 30 feet into the woods between on/off ramps and find this giant pile of sticks that form a home for gnomes, possibly. Research suggests rats. Here’s more from the nets:
Woodrats are most known for the elaborate stick houses that they build and live in. These conical structures can be found high up in the oak trees of Hastings but most commonly they are leaned up against the base of a coast live oak or willow. These complex structures have multiple chambers within them ranging from the actual nest to latrines and even special areas where leaves are stored until the toxic chemicals they contain are leached out allowing consumption. Woodrat houses range in shape and size but it is not uncommon to find ones up to six feet tall. Each house is occupied by a single adult although moms share their houses with their young for their first two months of life. At that point the young move into adjacent houses still near their mother. Eventually, the mother will die and one of her offspring will inherit her house. This allows for a house to be maintained for decades by several generations of the same family
Sophia is by a kid’s nest, the really big one was hard to get at under a tree. About 4 feet tall.