Hairy tailed mole

Doing a little catch-up, been so brutally hot and humid this week didn't feel much like photography or chasing any critters. Got most of my work done in the mornings and then vegged out for the afternoons. Wednesday afternoon I did a load of laundry, hung it on the line, and came back down around to the house. At the spot where we stack our firewood, there was a small pile of sticks and debris left behind. As I came by I heard loud rustlings, the pile of sticks was moving, and I wondered what on earth was under there causing the commotion. 2 moles came up out of the pile, one of them ran out into the open. Fortunately I had my towel with me, I dropped it on the mole and scooped it up. Mole didn't like that, there was some squeaking and struggling in the towel. I took it into the house, and, knowing that moles can't jump, set it in the bathtub. Mole came out of the towel and skittered around on the porcelain, little feet pedalling like mad, not making much progress. I got my plastic box/cage, shooed in there, and took a closer look. It was not one of the star-nosed moles that I usually find, I noticed the nose right away, pink and pointy, sniffing in all directions. I didn't flip it over to see if it were male or female, it was a hot day, 86F in the shade and humid, I didn't want to stress the poor little thing any more than I already had. I grabbed the camera and took a few shots, then took it right back outside and set it loose about 18 inches from a hole beside the pile of sticks. Little mole sniffed about, recognized familiar territory, and made a beeline for the hole. Managed to get a couple shots of it on the ground, and one as it scrambled its way down the hole.