Well, because our life just can't be normal - like - ever, we have a cougar in the neighborhood. No, not me but an actual cougar.
I get email alerts from the nextdoor app and most of the time they're annoying nonsense. This time it was a post from really nearby: Cougar Sighting. I clicked through and there had been multiple sightings. Before I could talk to Kevin about it, our neighbor commented that she had heard it in the woods. The woods behind our house. So much for the neighborhood text chain, I guess.
We let the family know to watch the dogs and keep an eye out for anything. Like always, the brother has suddenly seen/known something before us. "I saw one the other morning!" he reports. I eyeroll because that's something you share with people. Also, I can spot a liar at fifty feet.
A few nights later, I was out on the deck and heard something. It sounds like a child scream. There's only one little kiddo in the neighborhood and it was too late for him to be outside playing. I texted the neighbor who reported hearing it and she confirmed that's what it sounded like. YIKES.
We've been keeping Lucy closer than usual and she has her rattle collar on her so it's guaranteed she will come when called. (old girl doesn't hear as well as she used to) We go with her if it's dark and we keep an ear out for any noises.
The other night Kevin was out in the yard with her and he heard something in the woods. He called me to come out to listen and the cat alerted. It's a creepy sound, especially in the woods and in dark. (Click here to listen) It startled an owl and it began to hoot in reaction. This time, it sounded like it was down by the creek instead of behind us.
AND THEN on Saturday Kevin came home from meeting his friends. He was driving his car, which is a little loud. He pulled it into his garage then stood outside the bay door, working on something. He heard the cougar scream really really close by.
He said he ducked into the garage, pulled the door down, then went to the entry door. He listened and could hear something in the woods. He called out to his brother, who had also just gotten home, to see if it was him. No answer.
Then he debated: stay in the garage or come to the house. Realizing he couldn't stay the night in the garage, he bolted for the house.
He spoke with our other neighbor and they reported that their dog - a giant, doofy Pyrenneese - had been barking at the woods all night, confirming that there was something out there. (draw the bottom of a boat. The left upper part is one neighbor and they're by the main road. The upper right corner is the other neighbor and they're completely surrounded by woods and the last house on the road. We are in the middle, with woods on one side and a ravine/woods on the other)
This morning I phoned Fish and Wildlife and they were surprisingly unconcerned. If we had actually seen the cougar, then they would make a plan but because it's only auditory, we're on our own. She did refer me to the website, specifically Living With Wildlife, with categories for which kind of wildlife you're experiencing. (link, if you're curious) She assured me that cougar attacks are unlikely and to just be careful. That seems contradictory but here we are.
She suggested that we could get a game camera so we knew what/how close any animal may be. That is a HARD PASS for me. I am happy not knowing what's out there. I mean, I assume and I intellectually know that there is plenty of wildlife out there. I do not, however, need to specifically know if they're wandering around the house.
One of my favorite things is to step out onto the deck to look at the stars when there is a meteor shower, possible Northern Lights, or full moon. It's well after Kevin and the dog have gone to sleep. I always have the deck gates closed when I do this and listen for movement. Now I'm hesitant to do even that and will probably take a break for while.
Our hope is that it will move on once it gets colder and the salmon spawning is done; which will be late November.
Live in the woods, they say, it's so peaceful they say.
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