Lions,Tigers and Bears
We are about to shift into a new season. Our wildlife is already getting restless. Their visits to our house are beginning to cross the boundaries that we have set for each other. We traditionally see our share of birds, insects, bees, squirrels, snakes, rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and deer. From a distance, I am fine with our co-existence. It is when they infringe upon my territory that I have a fit. There is a deer couple, often seen meandering through the neighborhood. One is so curious, that it was captured on a neighbors Ring doorbell camera while at their door. I enjoy taking pictures of them from afar when they are in our yard. We had a bear sighting in our city. Thankfully, we never encountered him. Years ago, while taking Kevin to school, we stopped for a giant turtle trying to climb out of the street onto the sidewalk. The top of his shell came to my knees. It was fascinating to see and was an absolute first for us. Recently, Marley was crying and hissing while looking out of the window. I looked out and saw a raccoon slowly walking across the yard. I shouted at the raccoon, “Hey you get home before I come down there.” He stopped walking, looked up at me, and I am sure I heard him say, “you and what army.” I closed the window and told Marley to mind her business.
Today I had a run-in with one of God’s creatures that would not back down. I was about to head out for my Wednesday morning activities. I left with just enough time to get to my 9:00 chair yoga class on time. I was also looking forward to playing water volleyball, followed by my swim class. Excited to go be with my friends, I grabbed my bag and opened the door. There, at the storm door, looking as if it was ready to pounce on me, was one of those creatures that I avoid at all cost. As I stopped dead in my tracks, I saw It glaring at me. I immediately called for Marley. She is protective of her territory, I know she can handle this. At 4am, Marley was flying around the house like a child on sugar. Right now, she is nowhere to be found. The clock is ticking; I am having this live situation going on. I consider my options. Do I stay home until Darrel gets back and miss out on the fun? Should I call animal control? Can I go out through the garage door without being seen? What to do, what to do.
I gathered my wits about me and came up with a plan. First, I tried the scare tactic waving my arms and stomping towards the storm door. It sits there watching me unfazed. Next, as I get closer to the door, I wave my bag and holler scat. It keeps it’s eyes on me and I keep my eyes on it as I move closer. At this distance, I can better see what I am dealing with. Goodness gracious, the baby cricket was actually clinging to the outside of the storm door. With new confidence, I bravely made my escape. After locking the door, I slowly opened the storm door. Careful not to slam it, I made a run for my car. Whew, that was close. Baby Jiminy cricket almost got me.
As I was pulling away, I started to roll down my window and tell the baby cricket hugging the storm door what would happen if he were still there when I got back home. I thought about Dennis, from the movie Jurassic Park, telling the dinosaur what he was going to do to him. Things did not end well for Dennis, so I closed my mouth. Before pulling off, I prayed my regular prayer that the Lord would keep me from acting a slap fool in public today. Then I put my car in reverse, and I got to getting!
Happy Fall y’all,
Amanda 🦁🐯🐻🦗
Update: A few days after this happened my sister Cheryl sent me a picture of a praying mantis that was on the side of her house. That green monster was about 2 feet long! I was going to post the picture but just looking at it gives me the heebies-jeebies.
Lion Photo by Alexas Fotos from Pexels; Thumbnail bear Photo by Rasmus Svinding from Pexels
