November 17th So Peaceful Here
I got a note the other day from an old friend that said, “Denise, I heard you and your family are living on a farm, how nice– that must be so calm.” I chuckled when I read her words. Calm? I don’t think anyone who’s spent time on a farm thinks of it as calm. Peaceful? Yes. Calm? Not so much.
I thought of her words again as I spoke to the game warden, Dave Jones. He told me the cat we saw the other night sounded, from my description, like an adult. Which he felt was a blessing, as that would mean it was smart enough to stay away from people. I told him I was new at guessing the size and weight of a cougar and he'd have to figure in a pretty large margin for error and allow for the darkness and, of course, the adrenaline. He said he completely understood, but felt sure by its manner that it was an adult. We discussed cats in general - their habits, the differences and similarities between lions and cougars generally and in their hunting practices.
“They’ll just walk their trap line, which could be anywhere from five to fifty miles depending on the deer population.With your 40 acres, the state ten you surround, the empty 40 acres adjacent to yours and the wilderness behind you, you're in the middle of their territory,” Dave informed me (We have seen a tremendous increase in the deer population coming through the property - perhaps it's Irish being confined)
“Last year I never saw any cougar prints, but we did have a lot of coyotes. I haven’t seen the coyotes since last winter. Would they leave if a top predator moved into the area?”
“Absolutely. The absence of coyotes suggests the cougar. And, you know, I wouldn’t say you’re infested with cats in your area but, let’s face it, you back up to wilderness.
(plenty of habitat)
I'd say you have a very healthy cougar population. We did have a problem with one going into a carport on Mosquito Lake Road the other day and had to shoot it. It was sick though – feline leukemia.”
“I’m nervous just walking out to my car at night now. I don’t want to lose any of my animals. Should I do anything in addition to my current precautions?”
“No, you’re getting them in at dusk,” Dave said. “The bells are good. You have the air horns. You could get pepper spray.”
“By the time pepper spray would be useful, I’d have already had a heart attack.”
“I can understand that.”
“What about my geese? I hate to keep them penned in all day.”
“To be honest, cougar don’t really eat geese. Coyotes do, maybe an owl, but not cougar. It’s not worth it. They don’t know your geese don’t fly too much. They’d rather take down two deer a week.”
“So I should be grateful to Karen – she’s protecting the geese.”
“Karen? That’s what my son named her.”
“It seems you guys are fine up there if you’re naming them. Let me know when you see her again.”
“It’s pretty breathtaking to see. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather see her from the inside of my van, but it’s amazing.”
“I get that. I love ‘em, too.”
Coincidentally, I got a call a few minutes later from my neighbor, Kristie. She was just checking to see how we were doing, when Tom was coming up and life in general. And, oh yeah, she wanted to let me know her neighbors saw a brown bear with her three cubs - and, as if that wasn’t enough, Stan saw some black bears in their yard.
“Wow! Brown bear? Grizzly? Really? I had heard there was a release program, but I never thought they'd come down out of the Cascades.”
“Darlin’, you’re in the Cascades. And it’s the cool summer we had. It was nice down here, but the berries didn’t ripen in the upper elevations and so they came down here for food. They're headin’ back up now as it gets colder.”
Bear. I’d love to see a bear, but I’d hate to meet a Grizzly. I’m not sure which is more terrifying - the cougar or the Grizzly.
On the way home from school today, Henry and I stopped by the North Fork of the Nooksack River. We looked around and were enjoying the view when we saw them. They’re back. The eagles have landed. It was amazing looking at them look at us. They truly are majestic. We joked about seeing these thieves stealing salmon from a seagull next week. They’re such terrible hunters. A top predator I’m not frightened of, but we’d better keep a close eye on Bruno.
(Hmm. let's see, it's a dove, it's a turkey, it's a scavanger -)
We chatted on the way home about our upcoming stakeout and the dead bear we saw on the side of the highway, which reinforced Kristie’s sightings. Both Henry and I wished we could get some sort of night vision camera or monocular. We’d at least need another flashlight.
(Wally's current project)
It had gotten dark quickly and, once we pulled in, I told Henry to take in the groceries and practice his scales while I fed the animals. As I headed for the barn, my radar went up. I felt as though I were being watched. I looked and was sure I saw an animal. I stood there looking at it. And it stood there looking back. I knew for sure it wasn't big enough to be a brown bear, but could it be a bear? Was it a cougar? Or just a deer? I thought, "It's probably just a deer," but I wondered why it wasn't running away. I realized I had my camera and flashed a shot, thinking either it would be frightened or I’d get a better look at it.
(looks like a deer now - from the comfort of my kitchen)
Neither occurred. So I stood there as darkness fell, not knowing which way to turn – to the barn or back toward the house? Just then, Irish barked fiercely. I turned my head in his direction and then back toward my companion. Whatever it was – was gone. For now.
I walked calmly to the barn.



























