I Thawt I Taw A Puddy-Tat

I should preface this blog with some logistical information. My husband and I live in the NE corner of the mid-Michigan area. To my family who live downstate, I live in Northern Michigan. To my friends who live up North, I'm a down-stater. Anyway, I digress. We have almost 4 acres in a very wooded area, with the Kawkawlin river as the western edge of our property, and that runs around the south edge of our land, also. I mention this because if you know anything about animals in the wild, they tend to gather and follow rivers, streams, etc. In the past 19 years we've lived here, it's very common for deer, wild turkeys, coyotes, and every other kind of small game you can image, to call our "woods" home. Actually, it was about 8-10 years ago, we had bear scat on our property and a few days after we discovered it, the DNR captured a 3 year old black bear and relocated him to Indian River, where he'd be with the rest of his very large friends.

So, now to the newest inhabitant in our neighborhood. It appears there is not only one, but a "few" bobcats on our land and the land of our neighbors. It totally unnerves me, but doesn't surprise me. Four weeks ago, when we brought home our new puppy, Bella, both Donn and I started to notice something out of sorts in our environment. Because Bella was so small and we have very large owls and hawks in our trees, we started going out with her, lest she get picked up as small game and carried off. One night, Donn asked if I'd seen a pair of eyes looking into the yard from the creek that runs along side the garage and the barn. Of course I hadn't but, since his mention of it, I began to feel very uneasy in the evenings when I take Bella out for her potty breaks.

A few days ago, our 3 year old collie, Skye, who barks at anything that moves, began pacing up and down the fence line and barking in a most menacing tone. If you know anything about collies, they are very gentle dogs, but protective of their "flock". As their family, we constitute her flock. The change in her attitude and posture in the yard was a warning signal. Again, I kept getting the feeling that something was watching me. I need to digress at this point. About 4 weeks ago, we had a significant snowfall with much drifting. It was about 2-3 feet deep between the fence and the garage area, going back to the barn. Both Donn and I commented on the tracks we saw on the top of the snow. They were large like a dogs, but not canine-shaped....cat tracks, but too big for a domestic cat. Each time I looked at them, I was unnerved.

Now, back to last evening. Bella, now 4 months old, was whining to go out but each time I got her to the back door, she refused to go through it. I had to coax her out with treats. She, quickly, ran to the edge of the grass, did her thing, and bolted back to the door. Simultaneously, Skye is aggressively running the fence line, barking furiously. I "treat" her back into the house and try to relax with a cup of tea. Then I hear the back door slam, as if someone has opened and shut it. Oh, oh...this isn't good. I'm home alone and I know I'd thrown the dead-bolt when I came in because I was so spooked. Gathering my courage and the only weapon I trusted myself with, a very long barbecue skewer, I made my way downstairs to the inner door that separates the dog room from the rest of the house. That door was shut and secure which could only mean that the noise I heard came from the door in the dog room that opens to the fenced in yard. So, I open the inner door and move into the dog room and can see that the dead-bolt is still in place and the door secure. So what did I hear? Did something of a good size jump up against the back door? At about 10 p.m., safe and secure in my living room, surrounded by my trusty dogs and, now, 2 barbecue skewers, I hear an eerie sound. The kind you hear on the Discovery Channel programs...you know, the ones about the big cats. That kind of screech/scream that panthers and cougars make. Donn's on his way home from work, at about this time, and I'm headed to the kitchen to hit the wine!!!! I tell him about the events of the evening but there's nothing we can do about it.

Then, this morning, our neighbor, Betty, calls and asks if we heard the very strange screeching/screaming sound that came from the woods around 4:30 this morning? No, we hadn't, but we then started comparing events of the past few days, and she offers that the neighbor on the other side of her, Ethel, had an up close and personal encounter with a bobcat about 3 weeks ago, as she went to put her dogs out. It was standing right at the corner of her house. She must not have had barbecue skewers handy because her weapon of choice was a broom.

Now, my question is why didn't that neighbor call Betty or I? That's something you might want to share with your neighbors. That a bobcat is not only in the area, but it's in our yards. Now, Betty's husband is Jerry and Jerry is a hunter. My Donn also hunts and, between the two of them, let's just say we are well-armed. Donn went out right away and checked our barn for any sign of a predator and found no trace. Jerry's going to keep his eyes open. Meanwhile, I go out to the DNR website, enter the search term "bobcats" and get a whole page about how bobcats, cougars and lynx are being tracked. The DNR wants all sightings reported. I print off the materials and give them to Donn who takes them down to Ethel's. When he comes back, he's learned that there have been other sightings, about a mile from here and it was more than one bobcat...more like a few.

You can bet I'm not going to rest easy until they predators are dealt with. I know cats jump fences and so it stands to reason that big cats can jump big fences. I don't want to be out in the yard and come face to face with one. Now I know how Tweety Bird felt every time he looked out from his cage and saw Sylvester lurking, licking his chops. Just like Tweety, I'm saying "I Thawt I Taw A Puddy-Tat..a big Puddy-Tat".