One of the great disincentives to going into town for dinner is driving home afterwards.
That, plus I'm well fed on the home front, as I was just told to mention.
Such an evening outing means the designated driver (yours truly), after heroically abstaining while dear wife jollies her way through a glass or two of wine, has to negotiate 25 winding kilometres of unlit and finally unsealed road that is alive with kangaroos.
One night we were heading home after a rare outing and a young 'roo jumped out of the bush, well ahead of the car.
He decided to hop along in front of us in a leisurely fashion, for a kilometre or two, in the middle of the road. Unable to pass, we idled behind him for some time.
So, more generally on a Saturday night we'll wine and dine on the veranda, occasionally spotting the lights of homeward bound cars going a bit too quick-ish.
The next day, dead wildlife, legs akimbo, is to be found beside the road.
Online advice about the problem includes: 'If a collision cannot be avoided, it is best to swerve towards the rear end of the animal, as it is more likely to run forward.'
Road kill of course happens throughout the world, so that tip is probably more applicable when encountering, say, a moose than a headlight-dazzled 'roo.
Twenty years ago on the roads of Tennessee (where the 'roo population is low), deer, squirrels, opossums and raccoons were and presumably still are a problem.
A citizen complained to his local member when he was fined after accidentally hitting a deer and then giving the meat to a migrant family.
Eventually, the state legislature introduced a bill that was lampooned across America.
It read: 'Wild animals accidentally killed by a motor vehicle may be possessed by any person for personal use and consumption.'
In other words, it would be legal to eat road kill.
One of the bumper stickers at the time read: 'Cat - The Other White Meat.'
Actually, cats and dogs were exempted from the bill.
Defending the bill a politician noted 'There are a lot of rural people in this state who understand what this is about. I don't care for coon. I don't like the taste of coon. But we've got people who have coon dogs and hunt for coon. But not with their cars.'
Perhaps road kill is under-appreciated, what with everyone becoming more self-sufficient.
Here in Australia, for example, no kitchen should be without Road Kill Recipes: Australian Wildlife on the Verge. Yum.
- Ross and Gemma Pride have split their time between Sydney and Billagal, Mudgee, since 2001.