Homestead mailing list

[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

I can't sleep...
A list member shared a story with me and let me just say..
I wudda killed him...freakin' BRRR..speaking of too scared to run, that
reminds me.

Okay, a few weeks ago around 11 pm we heard Rilian, my Greater Swiss
Mountain dog (who now lives at the barn in a pen) totally raising Cain.
 I yelled out the door, which usually works, but he was so wound up that
he just would not quit barking. After maybe 10 minutes, I finally snuck
out the back door to see what, if anything, he was barking at, and in
doing so, spooked 3 nice sized does about 25 feet away that had been
grazing in the front yard. I spotlighted them with my 800000 candlepower
flashlight to enjoy them before they finally headed up the hill into the
woods.  However, Rilian was still barking, so I rounded my truck and
started out to the barn about 200 ft away. When I got on the other side
of my truck, I thought I heard something coming from that direction, so
I stopped, and yes, there was something going on, so I continued on.
About halfway there, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I
finally clearly heard the commotion.  There was SOMETHING in the woods,
just out of reach of the flashlight. It was BIG and it didn't seem to
care that I was there.  At first I heard it in one place, then another,
then high on the hill, then almost at the butcher area. It was fast,
big, and it did not seem to care that I was yelling at it and shining a
light...I could hear branches breaking, leaving rustling, and I would
have sworn there were at least 3 people up there felling trees. So when
I had gotten about 3/4 of the way to the barn, I decided that a
flashlight was not good enough protection.  I ran(literally) back to the
house, scared as crap, telling Ron in broken sentences that there was
something in the woods, that it sounded really big, but mostly like was
a bunch of raccoons playing tag or something.  I actually said, "I don't
know what it is, but it sounds like Bigfoot knocking over trees".  I
grabbed the .22 rifle(again thinking raccoons) and headed back out the
door. Ron, only 2 days post surgery, is yelling for me to take the .223,
but I was tired and it is hard for me to hold the heavier .223 and the
flashlight.  I buck up and tell myself that "I'm the man, now"..LOL..and
head out the back door.  He's worried, so he throws on the muck boots,
some pants, and grabs the .223 to follow, but I did not know this at the
time.  So I get back out there and the commotion continues on-at least a
full 15 minutes by this time- and I am taking a step at a time ever
closer to it, and while I have the flashlight, I can't see anything in
the woods. When I get to the barn, I can see small trees swaying, so I
yelled again to "Go Away or I'll Shoot"..nothing changes.  At this
point, I am shaking so badly that I almost dropped the flashlight.
Frozen in fear, I called for Ron (squeaky kind of dream voice-you know
the one) and luckily he was halfway to me.   He still had his senses
about him and turned on the large halogen floodlight at the barn and
pointed it up the hill into the woods.  He could not believe the noise
either.  At this point, we are wondering if we have raccoons chasing
each other, Bears fighting, or what...then, we heard the characteristic
bashing of antlers. Big antlers..  Ron said, DEER! but I'm telling you,
I almost couldn't believe it.  We walked closer up the trail to get a
better look, and I suppose we were about 25 feet from the action(this
was stupid in hindsight, but with a rush of adrenaline...)anyway, Ron
said Bev stop, you only have the .22, so he took point going up the
trail.  Then suddenly, the noise and commotion stopped.  I think the
folks over in Alabama could have heard my heart beating.  Finally, we
see them, not 15 feet away..two HUGE bucks, not your standard GA
whitetails...these were huge..the loser of the battle ran down the hill
kind of towards us and we got a good look at him.  He was a 10 pointer.
The larger buck, no point count on him, ran away from us.  The whole
time, they were so locked in rut and mating ritual behavior that they
never saw us until after they broke apart, even though we had yelled,
lighted them up, and got within 25 ft of the battle.  It was, for the
lack of a better word, majestic to listen to after we knew what it was.
 It wasn't so majestic when I was alone out there envisioning Bigfoot or
a family of Bears.  It was just one of those once in a lifetime events
that I feel privileged to have witnessed.

Bev

--
Bevanron of EarthNSky Farm   Sleep well tonight, for somewhere in the
ocean's depths, MY son is protecting YOUR freedom.