Bigfoot?

Well, it’s 6:30 and I’ve had a pot of coffee and a couple hours to think about it. I didn’t sleep that well. Dogs in dogs out. Dreamed I was hauling hay from north of town, one stinking bale at a time. Woke up wondering if the dogs were being jerks because the cows might be out.

Then I heard it. 4am and the strangest yeowlly growly sound is coming from down by the mailbox. It’s getting closer and closer and louder and louder. I got out of bed and opened the curtains and there it was.

I could just make it out in the pale moonlight, a giant ROUS. Those of you that aren’t fans of Princess Bride, an ROUS is a rodent of unusual size. This guy is about two feet tall, pretty long, walking slowly through the front yard.

Like any normal person would do, I put on my muck boots, grabbed my spotlight and ran outside to look at it. I’m standing in the yard, 4am, boxers, muck boots and lamp, thinking, “This is not how I want the authorities to find me.” Went back in, put clothes on. By now Will is up because whatever it is is standing outside of his window making the strange noise. I head out the back door and can’t see it because it rustled out into the trees. I’m so disappointed. I’m sure I’ve found an actual ROUS, or maybe the elusive link between reptile and mammal, after all it walked like an alligator but had hair. 

 Allison is up by now. She heard the noise and I’ve explained to her what I saw. Now, she’s been sucked into too many of my misadventures (think alien abduction, etc) and lived with the overactive mind of a 6 foot six year old for too many years to believe it was a woolly alligator. She methodically debriefed my morning escapades, and after listening to animal sounds on the computer, I’m sorry and somewhat embarrassed to admit, it was a large porcupine. Dang it anyway.