Sunday, July 12
Went back later Friday evening. The feeling was back. I scared a deer a little ways away.

The deer was close enough to be a possibility, and far enough away to be unlikely.

=============================================

I went back last night. The feeling was there, but not as strong going in. I headed up the road to the spot. The tree wasn't creaking. Didn't see much.

Tracks:
deer

Tracks before or in between the rains we had Thurs-Sat of last week, because they had been washed out some, and some of the tread had been filled in with silt:

men's shoe: size 12 or 13
kid's(?) shoe: about half the size of my 13s. in and back out
mountain bike in and back out

I looked around a bit, and felt the feeling coming back. I was in a hurry to get back (so many things to do, so little time), when I heard two faint male voices off to the left. It sounded like they were far up on the ridge. When I heard the stick break the one time, it was on the right side of the road. I round the last bend and go the 100 yards or so to the gate. The hairs on my arm had been standing up, and I had been feeling the electric sensation up my spine, but as I got to the gate it increased 10 times.

I didn't hear or see anything going in - if a human had been there, they would have seen me chamber a round in the 1911 and load up on extra magazines.

For the past couple months, there has been a 40ft(?) box trailer setting in the parking lot. The last couple times, there has been hay on the ground behind it and sticking out under the doors. There was construction up the road for new water lines along the road, which could explain the hay.

The trailer takes up almost half of the parking lot (gravel turn out), but I always turn my truck around and park it facing out and as close to the road as I can. This, however, puts my back towards where the faint voices and feeling came from last night.

I went back Saturday.

When I pass that one spot, I could here a tree creaking in the wind. The hairs on my neck stood up again, and the electric sensation went up my spine. Maybe it's a (pre-installed, not evolutionary) brain response to danger from the tree. Maybe someone has a trail-cam installed in the area, and I can sense that. Maybe it's a deer or coyote watching me. Something is there.

The road was soft from rain. I saw deer, turkey, and canine tracks. I didn't see any human tracks, and walked into a couple of spider web strands at face level.

6/22/09 update

Had the same feeling a couple nights at home walking from the truck to the house - it's a couple miles from the first incident. I got home Friday, and felt like I was being watched from the truck to the house. I got in, and 4 minutes later, the motion light went out. A couple of minutes later, something set it off again.

Also heard the same sound through the weeds behind the house...

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I went back this evening around 6:30. Only went about half way because I was in a hurry. I was traveling light - video camera and 1911 with one magazine (wished I had the extras...).

Had the same feeling close to the parking lot, and the spot from last time.

It's been raining here almost every day for the last week. Something (someone?) snapped a limb that sounded pretty dry or pretty large to get the loud crack. It sounded like it was coming from the old mining road above the gravel gas road I was on.

There were no cars in the lot. I didn't notice any human tracks. I did see an unfamiliar track, but it was small, maybe 2.5". It had (I think) five toes and a large pad - will have to do a screen capture to be sure...

I don't know of any homeless people who could have set up. Never seen any person. Never been far from the road, so haven't seen signs of a "grow" operation or anything like that.

Thinking "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me", helped with the electric sensation in my spine...

From the beginning of June

I thought I would go for a quick walk in the woods the other evening. I brought along a .45 and my video camera instead of my usual DSLR. As I started up the road, I thought I saw a glimpse of a light color that disappeared when I looked back up - explainable by sunlight.

I continued walking, and spooked two deer that took off running.

Usually, as I get closer to the end of the road, I can feel the hairs on my neck stand up and tingling in my spine like I'm being watched.

If it's friendly or ambivalent, we'll continue on our own way. If it's hostile and persists, there's a couple extra magazines...

So, I got to the end of the road, heard a deer up on the hill snorting at me. I turned around and headed back out.

I got halfway back out, when it happened...

What kind of animal makes a heavy, plodding sound moving through the brush (besides Bigfoot Roll Eyes Wink and the Wolfman who was reported seen in the general area 45 years ago)? It also doesn't run when you throw fist-sized rocks in the vicinity... No other cars in the lot. No "Hey, stop throwing rocks at me!" Whatever it was didn't come out of the brush to make a youtube debut...

As I focused intently on the area, the sound abruptly stopped. Was it sizing me up and decided I was too ready? I heard birds chirping all the way up and back, except at this time - maybe I tuned them out.

I headed for the truck, pausing to look behind me every so often.

So... Opossum? Raccoon? A bear was picked up in the area a couple years ago and transplanted. A couple others have been spotted and escaped.

quick thought

To whom it may concern,

Where did you go? Why did you leave us? The stock market is a roller coaster. War is raging in the Middle East. Pirates are attacking ships. Floods, earthquakes, harsh weather and other natural events are happening. Dictators are pressing for more power, more land, and the annihilation of those who disagree with their standards. Gas prices seem to increase more than they decrease. I heard someone ask, “What happened to the world?” and “Can't a person turn on the news without hearing of a murder or abuse victim, or someone who ran away or was kidnapped?” The outlook seems bleaker by the day...

Where did you go? Why did you leave us?

We've been waiting here for you to come back... All you have to do is turn around on the road you're on – make a U-turn – and come back. We're waiting for you. A Savior, to save your soul from an eternity in Hell. A Comforter, to guide and intercede when the words won't come out. A God, patiently directing things for the good of those who follow. A Lighthouse guiding people through the darkness of this world to an eternal safe harbor.

Won't you come back? We're waiting.

Faithfully Everlasting,


God

I want to see Jesus

I want to see Jesus

I want to see Jesus
Though it's hard to wait in line
But, I'll keep waiting
'Til He says "It's time."

Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine

Though all the treasures
On Earth I can find,
None of them will matter
When Jesus says, "It's time"

Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine

Even a mansion
Waiting on the other side
All that seems small
Because Jesus is mine

Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine

from the "Oops..." file

Zoo solves mystery of celibate polar bears

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Puzzled zookeepers in northern Japan have discovered the reason why their attempts to mate two polar bears kept failing: Both are female.

The municipal zoo in the city of Kushiro in Hokkaido brought in a polar bear cub three years ago. They named it Tsuyoshi, after the popular baseball outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and waited until it reached reproductive age.

In June, the zoo introduced Tsuyoshi to its resident bear, an 11-year-old female named Kurumi, and waited for sparks to fly.

But much to the disappointment of zookeepers, Tsuyoshi never made any amorous advances toward Kurumi.

Earlier this month, zookeepers put Tsuyoshi under anesthesia to get to the bottom of the matter. That's when they made their discovery: Tsuyoshi is a female.

Still, the Kushiro zoo plans to keep Tsuyoshi because he -- or rather, she -- has become immensely popular with visitors.

"I have rather mixed feelings, given the need for breeding, but Tsuyoshi is an idol for Kushiro," Yoshio Yamaguchi, head of the Kushiro zoo, told Japan's Kyodo news agency.

Tsuyoshi will even keep her name.

"We will not be changing it to 'Tsuyoko' since it is loved by citizens (by the current name)," Yamaguchi said.

"Ko" is a common suffix for a Japanese female name.

Meanwhile, Tsuyoshi's "brother," who was adopted by another zoo, has also turned out to be female, Kyodo reported.