Where the Wild Things Roam
 

One of my biggest fears is being attacked by a bear. Guess what I saw in my back yard last week? You guessed it--a black bear! I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. There are woods at the side of my house and I looked over and saw a large black fur ball. I had heard dogs barking constantly for 15 or 20 minutes straight before that. It was near dusk, so I didn't get a really good look at it, and I didn't wait to investigate further. It totally freaked me out! Fortunately, I was right by my back door and I quickly made my way inside. My house is actually surrounded by woods and near the base of a mountain in New Hampshire. We moved here about 8 years ago. The neighbors have told me that they have seen a black bear and a moose. The first night we spent in the house, I heard coyotes howling. In all the places I've lived, I have never heard that. And sure enough, that first winter, I saw a pack of coyotes go through my back yard. It is not unusual to see flocks of turkeys when I look out the window. I have seen deer, raccoons, rabbits, and all sorts of birds in the yard. What sort of wildlife have you seen in your yard?

Just saw a red fox a few days ago cross the yard. Not much for woods around here, anymore.

"Progress" has, in my mind, not been an improvement for man or beast.

I was leaving for work while it was still dark out, went out the back door and saw mama possum with 4 babies on her back about 4' in front of me. While I was trying to unlock the door to get back in, she ran off down the driveway. I don't know who was more startled, her or me. I also had two skunks, both of which sprayed my dog and a badger. Of course, there were many squirrels, some who chewed through the soffitt of the back porch roof. I live in a small farm town southwest of Chicago which has since been swallowed up by suburbia.

We have the same as you, but last year there was a fox every night. I was chasing it away (it was eating the bird and chipmunk/squirrel snacks), but realized it was really old and feeble. Then I felt bad for it. My daughter lives in CO in ranch country and there are a lot of icky snakes.

One day I saw a beautiful Blue Herring in my backyard. It was huge! I went to get my camera and when I returned it was gone.

Once I walked out the front door to see a pair of donkeys in my front yard. They belongs to a neighbor. Another time, I drove down the road and had to stop while a couple of baby goats crossed the road. And years ago, when I lived in Maine, I walked out my front door to find several cows wandering around my front yard.

I haven't seen it but a skunk has been spraying near my patio door for the past two weeks. I was mystified when I visited my Dad at his home near Tombstone AZ, jackrabbits 36" in height would come out in the early dawn. I heard a bear trying to get in the trash can near the restrooms at Yosemite one night when camping in the tented campground. Isn't that just the time your body decides it needs to go pee??

OMG, your story made my blood run cold ManiacQuilter. This is the stuff my nightmares are made of! Once, when my daughter lived in Florida, she and her boyfriend and I went canoeing. I saw and alligator no more than 6 feet from the canoe. I became super religious in that moment!

Rattle snakes, king snakes, gopher snakes, skunk, raccoon, opposums, rats, rabbits, bob cat, road runner, mice, bugs, cyotes, weazels, neighbor's dogs, squirels, quail, hawks, owls, egret, humming birds and we now live on an agriculture property in the middle of development. I don't think we have mountain lions any more but did in the past. Rattlers is what troubles me the most. Plenty of cyotes but they are more of a concern with my 7 lbs dog. I only let her out on the leash. The bob cat ate many of my ducks and chickens but so did the neighbors dogs and they, the neighbors dogs also mained and killed my goats and chase people down on our property. Very special.

I am not as big on bears either. We saw them while camping and hiking in the Sierra nevada mountains. I never dared to go to the out house at night as they would roam the campsites during the early morning hours. We'd also run into them when hiking. Beautiful but scarey to me. what really frieghtens me are grizly bears. As a young teen, I spend time in the rocky Mountains (bush country off of a gravel road), British Columbia Canada, and there were plenty there.

We stopped putting out seeds for the birds and squirrels after we found bear paw prints on the back of the house. This was after several incidents of finding the bird feeder on the ground and dis-assembled. We think the bear was investigating the lights near the door, thinking they might be bird feeders too. We have woods behind our house and lots of wildlife, but I really didn't expect a bear!