Dirt on a nose

By Aaron Horrell

The mole we know as the common mole also is known as the Eastern mole.

It is about half a foot long and is a native creature that lives underground in the woods, in untilled fields and in pastures. It also might come to live in your yard, where it will build tunnels and dirt mounds.

The Eastern mole digs a tunnel just below the surface, raising and cracking the earth. Earthworms will crawl into the tunnel and the mole will come along finding and eating the worms. The mole will use the same tunnel day after day as long as the "mole run" goes undisturbed. The mole is blind, and it finds the worms with its soft pink nose. It also will eat other critters such as slugs and centipedes that find their way into the mole's tunnel.

I took this photo in my yard early one morning in September.