Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Bigfoot Invasion?

I got woken up at 0330 by a bunch of banging. I thought the cats were rough housing upstairs. They do the mad kitty dash sometimes at night and Smudge being 19 1/2 lbs sounds like a cow or maybe a Buffalo running across the floor. I grabbed a light from the night stand and was headed toward the stairs with the intention of sending them back to the cat pound (no, I wouldn't do that) when I passed the open window above my fly tying bench.


The noise was not coming from upstairs, but from outside. Back to the nightstand for a larger flashlight and my Ruger .357 loaded with .38 specials. Back light on and outside I went. Flashlight in one had, pistol in the other. The banging continued. It was coming from behind my workshop.


Behind my workshop is where I keep the garbage can. One of those 90 gallon plastic things. To keep out the Racoons, I have it chained to the back of the shop with 3" I-bolts into studs and chain around the can to hold it against the wall. Then a chain through the front handle, over the lid, and back around, chaining the lid shut.



As I approached the shop, I noticed the trash can was lying on its side. A little garbage was laying on the ground. The chain holding the I-bolt had been pulled out of the stud and was laying on the ground. In the near distance, I could hear the padding of big paws hauling ass away from the area. It was clear the bear couldn't get the can open, but he gave it a good try.



I came back inside and told my wife, "I need bigger ammunition and reloaded my .357 with .357's. I had no intention of shooting the bear (Black Bear I would assume), but I wanted:
1. a louder noise if necessary to scare it and 2. more power if that didn't work. I wasn't going to be breakfast, and I didn't want to go out there unarmed.

Well, it wasn't Bigfoot although I'm still waiting to see one, but a bear looking for breakfast. I suspect he'll be back. I understand there is someone up on the hill behind us, who just piles their trash behind their house. Definately a bear lure.

Ah hell, I wanted to get up at 0330 any way. NOT.

Till next time, aah the joys of country living.

Mark (Shoreman)

9 comments:

  1. Damn, Mark, you ruined it. If you hadn't told folks it was a bear, you could could have had tons of people crawling around your property giving you big bucks to see Bigfoot:)

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  2. Darn...well, if you are lucky enough to see one I'd love to hear/read the report...I ain't pay'n though ;)

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  3. Always love the 0330 wake up call. No guns in Fiji so I use a machete.
    Sleep tight

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  4. Mark
    Get the dogs out--bears hate the barking, but who knows the bear may get use to the dogs,you may have a problem here, with the bear continuing coming back for meals. This post told a great story.

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  5. Could of been rich if you had the corpse of a bigfoot. =)

    The Average Joe Fisherman
    http://averagejoefisherman.blogspot.com/

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  6. Lots of bears making news all over the western states. Glad you didn't have to shoot him, but, good job sending him a message. Hope he doesn't turn into a regular problem for you and the wife. Ol' guys like you and me need all the sleep we can get.

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  7. Bigfoot, bears...as long as you don't end up "breakfast". This one had my heart pumping.

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  8. You know how to turn a serious story into a funny one...your use of the word "NOT" brought some laughter to my office!

    Take care, and hope "bigfoot" doesn't make this a continual problem.

    Daniel
    fhcoutdoors.com

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  9. Mark was that a close encounter of the worst kind or what,those neighbors would probally be the first to complain about bear issue & want it removed even though they left the garbage out & don't know/realize the facts.

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