Friday, September 25, 2015

What's That Shining?

Last night, I couldn't sleep and after tossing and turning....I finally decided, about midnight, to get out of bed. Of course, when my feet hit the floor.....so did "the girls." When Precious gets up, she has to go out.....or thinks she does, anyway. She's my cute little 3 1/2 year old, looks like a Teddy Bear, Pom. Bella, the smaller black Pom, does not believe in leaving the confines of the house and is very comfortable doing her "business" on a Puppy Pad. I think she could be diagnosed with ADHD, so I'm not at all unhappy that she stays inside.
I turned on the front porch light even thought the moon was almost full and bright enough for us not to need it. I picked up my flashlight and stepped onto the porch, and Precious charged down the front steps. At the bottom, she turned around and looked up at me, as if to say "okay, are you coming?" I turned on my flashlight, went down the steps and onto the brick walk, and Precious ran ahead of me. She ran across the driveway and into another part of the yard. The moonlight shining through the trees created shadows that played tricks with her, and she began chasing "boogers" 
Ace, the large black lab that lives next door, was barking non-stop. Usually, he's pretty quiet unless there's a reason not to be. Precious was trying to find the "perfect" place to potty and was ignoring Ace's barking.
She left the side yard, came back onto the driveway and began walking toward Bob's shop.
I always pan the yard, trees and surrounding woods with my light...just so I know who (or what) is walking with us! I have thick woods on two sides of my yard, and there's heavy underbrush. Anything on two, or four, feet has ample hiding places. I've never been afraid walking outside, at night. I pay attention when the weather gets cooler and the coyotes begin to roam the woods and the creek bank. As Precious started toward the back, I flashed my light onto the woods at the back of the yard.
What was that shining back at me? My light beam was just above the area where I often burn trash (when there isn't a burn ban). Had I picked up a glare from something left in the burn pile? I flashed the light, again, and saw that there were two yellow eyes looking back at me. They were near the ground....probably a cat, a possum, or a coon. Suddenly, those eyes were no longer "near the ground" .......whatever it was was had now stood up and was about the size a big dog might be. But it wasn't barking. It wasn't a dog. Once again, it "crouched" back down and seemed to be slowly moving my way. I quickly realized we had become something's prey.
Precious still hadn't "done her business"....and I didn't care! I quickly grabbed that little dog up. I was thankful she hadn't seen those eyes, or she would have given chase. I was also thankful she didn't try to run away when I bent down to pick her up. I think it all took place at the speed of sound......she had no time to react. As fast as these old legs would move, I headed back toward the front porch. I didn't take time to look back to see if we were being followed/chased.
Inside the house, I put Precious down. Neither she nor Bella were barking......I think both knew that something was going on. I went to the kitchen door and before opening it, I turned on the outside light to make sure there were no "guests" there. I turned off the light, opened the door and shined my light into the yard. "It" was still there, but had moved to the east....about midway the back yard.......and closer to the house. My light wasn't bright enough to determine what visitor I had in my yard, but I could tell it was moving. And whatever it was, it wasn't afraid of me! (I had cornered the market on fear!)
By the time I turned on the outside security lights, "it" had apparently moved into the woods. We have bobcats and coyotes in these woods, and there are a few people who even say they've seen black panthers. My granny told stories about the panther that roamed these woods and the creek bank, years ago.
I think Precious must have been aware of the danger that lurked in the yard. She didn't bark to go outside, again.......I heard her "circling" .....trying to find just the right spot on the Puppy Pad. Thank goodness!!
#inthedarkofnight #panthers #coyotes #bobcats #Pomeranians #outsideatnight #woods #countrylife