PWYW commission from  Kayote

Intellect vs. Instinct. You see, my intellect knows I hate being dirty. I must confess, I'm mildly OCD and I really like things to be neat and tidy, myself included. I also know that, with my thick fur, getting me clean again is going to be a pain for Bella. My cub instincts, however, don't give a leprechaun's fart.

We were taking Caprice for a walk in the park, kind of a daily necessity to work off some of her excessive energy if we want our home to remain intact. She may THINK she's a dog, but she's certainly got all of a ferret's curiosity, energy and destructive capabilities. I was 2, and yeah I needed to work off some excess energy as well, so it was a win win situation for us.

Bella got a call on her phone, from work, and we paused at a bench while she took the call. Thus... the age old battle between Intellect and Instinct kicked in. See, Badgers were very much subterranean creature, diggers of the first degree, and some of that instinct still remains in all of us. It's why I enjoyed being in the tunnel rats so much, and why I prefer to work on basements and other subterranean designs in my job as an architect. So, we tend to be attracted to dirt.

I spotted the glorious mud puddle, and my instincts won the battle. Bella was distracted by the phone call, so she didn't even see me heading over there to play. Before I knew what I was really doing, I'd plopped my arse down into the mud and was rooting around, having a grand ole' time. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was freaking out a tiny bit about the mud, but my cub enhanced instincts were in full swing and there was nothing to do about it...