Something ran out from behind the house...

[rayinpenn]

He's one of those kids that feels the spoken word is like currency - you don't give it away. You know the type.
Me: "I hear a school bus caught on fire?"
Him: "yeah" (and nothing more)

Needless to say it can be a bit frustrating; I think his sister stole all his words because she can and will chat your ear off. When she comes home from college the Mrs is in for a 2 hour chat fest guaranteed.

He pulled into our driveway a little after 9PM after his 5 hour shift at the local supermarket. The Mrs was waiting, as always, heard him and let the dog out to greet him. She later revealed that the dog sat midway between the car and the front door and stared off into the night. He seemed to move slowly getting out of the car. Finally he comes in grabs a snack and heads for his computer and his games...

A little while later, We are all sitting in the parlor, her and I reading, when he removes his headphones and causally says: "Something ran out from behind the house and headed across the street. It was black and round"

Now after 12 years I'm pretty familiar with the local wildlife. We have deer, fox, turkeys, skunks, rabbits, raccoons, coyotes, possums, ground hogs, large birds of prey and even a bear once that made a wrong turn somewhere. The creek at the bottom of the hill attracts all manner of critter but this case I'm immediately thinking dog. He then makes a gesture with his hands indicating a critter 3 to 3 1/2 feet high. Given that he isn't the type spin yarns I'm now thinking big dog but the round part has me a bit puzzled.

Some years ago I was off to work one morning and was nearly stampeded by a herd of deer. No fooling - I came around the corner and walked head on to 8 or 10 spooked deer and it scared the heck out of me.

Not too much later it is time to walk the dog; I'm thinking flashlight tonight and omg a leash. I'm not letting my old gal chase something or other off into the night. Plus with a leash she can't make a run for it while I'm left to deal with whatever. Well you can believe me I was listening and looking over my shoulder the whole 5 minute walk.

Thankfully the round, dark creature about 3 ft high didn't show itself and I didn't have the heart attack that was sure to happen..

It is still out there I wonder if I'll ever figure out what it was...

 

[Sunset]

small bear.

 

[MRG]

small bear.

+1
You're in PA right?
When do your bears come out of their dens? They're hungry and people's trash is often a source of food.

 

[NW-Bound]

I recall a couple of years ago reading about a black bear found wandering a neighborhood in the middle of a metropolitan area. Just now searched the Web and found several articles of the incidence.

The spot was perhaps 10 miles from the wild area, which was not too far for the bear to roam. The more interesting point was that the bear was able to penetrate deep into an urban center before getting reported.

 

[TGL405]

Bears generally move slowly unless they are being chased or scared and eyesight not that good, but a heck of a nose. I'm thinking maybe a coyote, they get very brave at night and move quickly if they think the have been seen.
Just a guess though.

 

[cooch96]

Almost certainly black bear, except they're usually skinny this time of year. My great-grandfather wouldve said it was the Delaware County Monster. That Monster has eaten more children over the decades than anything!

Might also be a loose or feral hog. That's what I would bet if you lived further south.

 

[jazz4cash]

Nice read. Thanks

 

[Geld ist Freiheit]

small bear.

Or chupacabra

 

[rayinpenn]

Update: Small bear was sighted a year before nearby... found it on the internet.

 

[Mdlerth]

I vote bear.

Thirty years ago, I lived in a mountain town where it was normal to encounter an occasional bear. But in the past decade I see more reports of bears foraging into larger, more densely populated cities. An eight-foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire is laughably inadequate to deter a black bear.

I speculate that over a few generations the bears gradually have learned to associate human habitats less with scary noisy deathsticks and more with galvanized cylindrical lunchboxes.

I fear this trend will have consequences for lone hikers and small dogs. Best to keep the dog on a leash and walk in a group.

 

[pb4uski]

+1. Probably a bear. About a year ago we had one actually come up a full flight of stairs onto our deck to get at a bird feeder I had been negligent about taking in. He ran down the stairs when DW snapped on the deck light and I saw it on our front lawn. They are usually hungry when they wake up and will do things that they will not normally do when food is more plentiful.

 

[Breedlove]

Second the chupacabra , see them all the time here in Texas . Critters are not good to eat .


A few weeks ago we opened the gate to the ranch and off to the side we seen what looked like a big lizard running through the woods . I had to chase it to find out it was an armadillo !

 

[akck]

Our German Shepherd had run in with a bear several years ago, although we didn't know it at the time. He was an escape artist who'd climb over the fence to say hi to whatever. He took after a 2 y.o. black bear and came back sheepishly. The bear fit your animal's description. We learned later a neighbor saw them tumbling down the creek and thought our dog must have had some serious damage. Not a scratch on him. Our GSD treed the bear over the next two years, until I finally escape proofed the yard. We saw the bear last year and he's grown up a lot. He probably could do some major damage now that he's over twice as big as our dog.

 

[FIREmenow]

He's one of those kids that feels the spoken word is like currency - you don't give it away. You know the type.
Me: "I hear a school bus caught on fire?"
Him: "yeah" (and nothing more)

Needless to say it can be a bit frustrating; I think his sister stole all his words because she can and will chat your ear off. When she comes home from college the Mrs is in for a 2 hour chat fest guaranteed.

How are your texting skills? It appears that is the new communication medium of choice.

I tried for years to have a normal conversation with my son about general "things". One night, he was in his room and I was feeling especially lazy. I sent him a text with my phone with a question about something. One thing led to another, and he proceeded to have a REAL CONVERSATION with me over the phone, via text, from adjacent rooms of the house.

This went on for a half an hour, him telling me things he would NEVER have said verbally.

It was an eye opener. That situation repeated itself several times over the course of the next year or two. I would purposely strike up verbal conversations to see if somehow I had "broken the ice", but to no avail.

Text only.

Go figure.

 

[RE2Boys]

Love your periodic musings of life, you've got a talent.
And I can very much relate, I also have son #1 at Penn State (Behrend)........in Computer Science.



And #2 is a high school senior, usually seen with an earbud, when he's around us he is thoughtful enough to only have one plugged in just in case we say something to him. Saturday we head to Slippery Rock for freshman orientation, he is blunt about wanting to be on his own and not have parent's nearby. At first I was disappointed as he's a great kid and we do many things together, but then thought back when I was a 17 year old (50 years ago), dropped off at Penn State University Park, and I couldn't wait to be on my own and for my family to leave. I did not consider living at home as an option.


And three weeks later, I was so glad that my family made the 4 hour drive to visit one weekend.


With #1, we insisted he live in a dorm his freshman year thought the campus is only half hour drive away. We left it to him where he wished to live his second year, right now it appears he'll be back home and commuting. And I'm totally fine with that. Stumbled on a used 6 year old AWD Escape at Christmas that'll serve as a great commuter car for him since we live in snowbelt of PA.


Would you believe the forecast has 2-6 inches of snow possible on April 7th!!

 

[Sittingduck]

Rayinpenn - I enjoy your observations on family life.

When my son was of that age he would come home, slam the door to his room and get on the computer for the rest of the day. Hard to get him to pitch in and do chores. Was short with his mother and sister. When he didn't spend his time gaming he was a sweet kid. Gave him an ultimatum on finding a balance. Limit his time online to the point his personality didn't change for the worst. Of course he ignored me until he came home one day to find his bedroom door gone and the electric breaker for his room removed from the service panel. He was interested in having a conversation after that.