So I knew it has been all too quiet this year in terms of our ‘wildlife’ adventures...I thought for sure we were going to have a nice peaceful spring and summer...with only a few critter interruptions...however, this morning's episode at the Waldorf residence tops the multiple sightings in prior years...hands down.
At 3AM this morning I was brought out of a very peaceful sleep to the sounds of chickens squawking, my dog barking, and Wes running out the door with his gun and his flashlight. Quite the unexpected alarm.
Realizing I wasn’t dreaming and that something was indeed wrong, I ran to the window to shine the flashlight on our chicken coop.
And what to my wandering eyes should appear?
A bear. Stuck inside the coop. That’s right. Stuck. And frantically trying to get out. Chicken feathers were flying. The Ladies were running around like mad women...alerting the world that someone was trying to ‘sleep in their bed’ and 'eat their porridge'.
I ran to the front deck to ‘help’ my hero husband by shining the flashlight in the general direction of the horror scene, while my jaw dropped open at the sight of what was in front of me. Without question or hesitation, Wes was in warrior mode running towards the girl’s humble abode full force into the front lines of battle....shirtless....and with a gun....Think Mel Gibson and Bravehart.....with a slight redneck twist.
**yeah, I know, quite the helpful warrior I am and quite the sight it was**
I watched as the bear tried to rock the chain link fencing from the inside to get out...it jumped on the chicken house a few times....batted at the girls who were running around in a game of cat in mouse to avoid being stomped on by ‘Yogi the nuisance’ who was now all of a sudden interrupting their beauty sleep.
Wes made it up the stairs to the tree at the one side of the chicken coop...he hid himself behind the tree in an effort to reach around and open the door to let the bear out and the chickens to run for their lives without being attacked himself...Again, helpful me was simply standing on the front porch, frozen and a bit in shock that I was seeing a bear in the coop, my girls possibly being eaten, and my husband about to potentially be chased down by a bear...and all I could do is stand there.
*Note to those of you reading: you probably don’t want me as your buddy on a long hike in the woods where there are animals. I don’t think I would be of much help if you were getting eaten by a bear***
This bear was smarter than your average bear and Wes’s presence was quickly recognized. This clearly agitated the bear to the point of it wanting out at no cost, so it managed to squeeze itself through a narrow hole in the bottom of the chinking in the fence... I kid you not, the hole was only the size of a watermelon and while the bear was not full grown, it was defiantly not a cub either. Around the 200 pound range I would suspect. It has to be walking around today with scrape marks down its back. Really, you would have had to see it to believe it.
After further investigation this morning in the daylight, that hole was clearly the only point of entry into FT. Waldorf.....I think I will name the bear “Houdini”.
Wes realizing the bear was making his escape, ran back down the stairs towards the garage a mere 10 yards or so from the bear. Mr. Honey pot was so upset that he went through all this trouble and still had an empty tummy, stood on his hind legs and huffed a few times as if it were going to charge at Wes. But Wes, as if he had been a bear tamer his whole life, in the ultimate man vs. wild showdown, stood his ground and proceeded to yell and stomp in the bear’s direction. It must have been when the bear caught sight of the .45 with a laser sight being waved in its direction that it decided it was in his best interest to find another place to forge for dinner ..and he proceeded to run off back into the woods.
WHEW! 3am has NEVER been more exciting in my life.
I got a bit....emotional....over the love my husband showed after it was all over. He proceeded to go into the chicken coop, put the house back on the blocks freeing a few that were penned in behind the house, and counting heads to make sure all were ok. He walked around the coop a few times to make sure the bear was gone. He did warn me when he got inside that we may have had two possible fatalities as those girls that were pinned were breathing but not moving when he freed them. I was shocked that it was only two to be honest with you. But this morning I counted all 7 up and scratching around for their breakfast as if nothing had happened.
We laid in bed for a few hours after it was all over talking about how our fort is pretty strong to withstand a bear attack, yet trying to figure out ways of making it stronger without spending more money. We talked about how we were going to contact wildlife control to see about obtaining a nuisance permit that would allow us to shoot at the bear if necessary preventing us from breaking any laws.
We talked about how it would be much easier to just buy our eggs at the store.
We drifted off to sleep eventually; Wes keeping one eye open and me dreaming of headless chickens. (Really, that was my dream...they were alive, but headless)
I love my husband. This chicken thing is all my doing. I know he has been so patient with me in all of this as he knows it is something I want more than him.
I was so proud of him last night....and so not proud of me. Coward I am.
But that is where I can appreciate his gifts even more.
He has been given the gift of the warrior’s heart...and me?
Well, I guess in being a coward, I have been given the gift to tell the story...
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