The wind was blowing a pretty good lick Monday night (April 1). It was late - after 9. DH was asleep and I was reading in bed. I heard the horses whinnying and I heard something unusual in their tone. I worried that maybe one of them was caught in the fence or injured in some way so I slipped on my barn shoes, grabbed a flashlight and wandered outside to investigate. I didn't see any reason to wake DH unless I found something amiss, so I tentatively wandered around in my jammies for probably 20 minutes. The horses were jittery and nervous and continuing to whinny, but they weren't hurt so I headed back to the house and listened a while longer from the deck. Eventually, they settled down and I curled up to sleep.
The next morning, I shared my night-time walk-about with DH, but everything seemed normal. He saddled up to put a few miles on his young horse and when he came back, he showed me this
He'd seen tracks right below the house so the horses' reactions were absolutely understandable. From the size of the tracks, he was a pretty good-sized mountain lion. I'll admit that I felt like something was up while I was out there, but once I saw the photo, I shivered, thinking about my proximity to Sir Lion the night before. I'm glad he chose to move on and not engage with the crazy lady wandering around in her jammies in the middle of the night.
9 comments:
I'm glad the horses were okay. and your chickens were secure. You definitely didn't want to meet the lion in the middle of the night! Hopefully he's moved on elsewhere. That is one problem we certainly don't have here!
May God continues to protect you and the herd. ;^)
How exciting (and glad your visitor wasn’t spooked or starving). Maybe motion activated lights outside but placed so the horses don’t set them off? And a game cam to actually see the visitor? Ceci
You are a brave soul!!!
Last summer we had FOUR mountains lions hanging around our property, husband woke me at dawn the first morning to whisper there were mountains lions on our deck!! I took some great photos from inside the house. The next morning they were back, disappearing during the day but came back onto the deck in the night. I was so spooked! Husband fired a large caliber pistol over the head of the one on the deck in the night and we never saw them again. I'm still cautious when out and about with the dog at night.
Good grief! I like to see mountain lions in zoos. I saw one once in our car; Sir Lion was stalking some deer. I felt badly for the deer but I understand the mountain lions are carnivores. No one delivers wrapped meat to them. Even though I now live in a small town, I am still rather a city girl as far as danger goes. May you be blessed with continuing safety!
Yikes!
Living in a rural area, lion was my first thought . You are one brave lady. Maybe carry an iron to fire off and scare them away, hopefully?
I love seeing the photos of your beautiful new "backyard."
A few years back at dusk, I heard one and with a flash light, watched it pass by my house. They have a distinctive call so I made sure my dog was inside before I went out to the porch. Thankfully, I've not seen or heard anything since. Very glad to hear the horses are safe.
San / Gypsy Quilter Designs
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