"And you thought you had unusual things in your freezer..."

This came up in an extreme hypothetical situation being discussed with Melissa on chat this evening.

She couldn't hear the laughter on this end of the conversation.

You see, sometime earlier in the day, while discussing the elk heart fat and hamburger grease available for adding to heeler dinners, the wife had made comment about "some samples" I had left in the refrigerator. Right next to the butter bowls. Wasn't complaining or anything, just thought I ought to do something with them, since they'd been there a while.

Now, I couldn't remember leaving anything in the refrigerator.

Yeah, we'd had a half dozen or so sage grouse hearts in there earlier this month. Samples for West Nile virus (all came back negative, by the way). And there's some deer and elk lymph nodes in the freezer right now, for testing for chronic wasting disease.

You notice I properly called them "nodes" and not "glands". I've received mild reproachful glances from veterinary types this month for calling them "glands", so I'm trying to be more proper, now. You see, "glands" produce and secrete hormones or something (like sweat glands or mammary glands), whereas these components of the lymphatic system are actually more like filters. And cell factories for the body's defensive systems. So, "nodes" they are.

Aaaaanyway, back to the refrigerator. We had a deformed antelope leg bone in there for well over a year, once (it's in a freezer, now), so things occasionally get forgotten.

But I don't remember any stray samples this year. Certainly don't discount the possibility.

I open the door, and look on the shelf by the two stacked margarine bowls.

There's a sandwich bag there, squeezed in next to the grape jelly. Containing some sort of rounded, dark mass. Looking like huge clots of blood.

I don't recognize that.

I reach in and pull it out.

The dark mass takes shape. Takes a second or two to recognize it.

But it's not mine.

I shout for confirmation. You mean in the sandwich bag squeezed in next to the grape jelly?

"Yes. It's been there a long time!", she answers from the bedroom, a slight hint of reproach this time.

Well, if it were mine, I'd eat it.

You see, it was a Nabisco Chocolate Marshmallow "Twists" Fudge Cookie.

Upside down, is all. And maybe a little stale, having been on the "do not touch" list for so long.

But it isn't mine.