I am writing this column on the assumption that the readers of the River Hills Traveler enjoy learning about the animals that we encounter in the great outdoors.
So here is a column about an animal found in the great outdoors that is literally just under foot for all of us anytime we are outside, but we really know very little about this creature.

My dogs, on the other hand, know all about him; they can smell him under foot and it drives them crazy, as you can see from the attached photo of my three dogs on their daily “mole patrol.”
Yes, we are talking about that pink, six-toed, squinty-eyed and so ugly he is actually cute — mole.
The Eastern Mole, officially known as “scalopus aquaticus,” is the predominant mole we find here in the Midwest.