# Unexpected memorable encounters with nature



## billooo2 (Nov 23, 2004)

I have had 2 encounters that seem to stand out.

1. I was living in Maine, and I was in the woods bringing firewood to the house that I had cut the previous summer. I heard a 'whooshing' sound. At first I thought it was a deer bounding through the snow. Then I looked up and it was a bald eagle......less than 20 feet above me.........it had a huge wing span, and the 'whooshing' sound was made by the wings. It gave me instant goose bumps.

2. I was out deep sea fishing on a 'party boat.' Someone spotted a whale on the horizon. That whale actually came closer and closer to the boat. It ended up right beside the boat. Seeing this whale upclose........the size!!!.....it was immense!!! And it rolled over on its side, and there was this eye........the eye rolled back and forth.....it apparently wanted to get a good look at this boat and its occupants. It stayed beside us for a few minutes......and then just swam away. I was pinching myself.......did this really just happen????

What memorable encounters with nature have other people had??


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

I have bow hunted Pheasant, Squirrel, fish, Deer, Turkey, Coyote, and just recently Fox. Fly fished for Carp, Small Mouth Bass, Pike, Walleye. Bow fished for Carp, Buffalo Suckers, and monster Gar fish !! 

The best memories and encounters for me are just BEFORE the release of the arrow, the setting of the hook, that moment you squeeze the trigger. That instant that you know it all has come together for you. I'm not speaking of the actually kill mind you, but the instant that you know you put all the pieces together to be on the fish, in the stand, on the water, in the woods at precisely to right time to experience the event that no one else in the whole world is experiencing but you at that moment!

I remember X-Country skiing in an over grown pine woods years ago and I seen a rabbit scampering down the trail in front of me, then in a flash a Red Tail Hawk swooped down and sank its talons in that rabbit a took him up into a nearby tree to dispatch him! As i slid up to the point of contact the only thing left to bear witness to the event was the rabbits tracks stopped and there were wingtip imprints in the snow about 2 ft distance separating each other, and several drops of bright red blood on the pure white snow.

Another time, while bow fishing i seen a Gar fish over 6 ft. in length and at least 8 inches across its back roll only 2 feet from my boat! I estimate her weight in the 70 pound range , enough to be the next Illinois state record for bow fishing! I was so amazed at her size that I forgot to shoot! I have been chasing that fish for 3 years now and have never gotten the opportunity to take a shot since then. I see her nearly every time I go out but at distance. I have named her, (mongo beast (female dog) )and she is almost like an old friend now, I don't know if i can stick her if presented with the chance again! Several friends have been with me and have proclaimed if i bring that fish in the boat they are leaving the boat. Her beak is over 12" long and teeth are 3/4 inches long!! I simple tell them to be ready, if i get the shot i will try to take it so they need to have a plan in place!! LOLOLOL

Great thread! :clap: :clap:Thanks for a ride down memory lane, I have lots more experences to share but others need space to share as well!


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## Jade1096 (Jan 2, 2008)

I'll preface this by saying I don't believe in any kind of wooo whatsoever.

Back when I was a lot younger, I was on vacation with my then boyfriend in northern Arizona. 
We were RV camping and he was panning for gold, which doesn't hold my interest at all.
We had hiked about 3 miles from the RV and he was set up next to creek. The area was just stunning. Mountains, pine forest, water so cold you can barely stand it, yet I still insisted on swimming in it at every opportunity.
I set up my hammock about 100 ft from BF and settled in to catch up on my reading. It didn't take long before I was asleep.
I dreamed that I was watching myself from a ridge that overlooked our area about 200 ft away. Then my dream panned out (for lack of a better word) and I saw a mountain lion watching us from that area. I woke up in a cold sweat with the hair on the back of my neck standing up. I immediately looked over to the ridge and saw nothing. But still....
I rolled up the hammock, gathered up my things and told the bf I wanted to go back to the RV.
He wasn't having much luck, so we packed up and headed out.
The next day we ran into another camper that told us that he had ran a mountain lion out of his camp the night before.

I told my bf about my weird dream and he wanted to go back to the ridge and look around. Yep, mountain lion prints in the mud/dirt all around.

Weird.


My favorite one was probably when I went on a hike in Colorado in the middle of winter. I was staying at a friend's cabin and everything was just so crisp and gorgeous.
It was probably around 11 at night and I decided I wanted to go for a short walk. I put some snowshoes on and walked outside.
It was so bright outside with all the snow. It was the first time I'd ever been around that much snow and I was surprised that it wasn't dark outside even though we were in deep forest. I could see everything. 
And it was so quiet. So, so quiet.
It started to snow and I swear I could hear the flakes hitting the ground, it was that quiet.
I probably only stood there for 5 minutes but it seemed like a lifetime. It was simple and beautiful.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

A few weeks ago, I looked up to see a doe in our front yard which is very common. I called DH to look at what was with the doe. Low and behold, it was an itsy-bitsy fawn out on it's first walk. Very small and all scrawny legged. I wanted to take it into the house and just hold it. So pretty! 
They walked the yard, onto the driveway and down to the pines.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

My most Unexpected encounter was when this guy showed up on the porch. I know you're not supposed to feed them, but I was happy to have company. So I gave him a couple banana's and we played Frisbee with saltine crackers.












After driving around for a couple years in the snow looking for tracks, it was kinda unexpected when we finally did get lucky.


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

1. Last summer I was outside working in my front yard and distantly heard this robin screaming. I started to pay attention because it was quickly getting closer. I looked up and saw it swooping crazily through the air trying to out maneuver a hawk. The hawk was like a rocket, straight forward and flying true. It took down the robin right in front of me.... Feathers flew everywhere and watching it take back off with it's load was pretty impressive.

2. My neighbor and I stand outside in the evenings to visit during the warm months. One evening we were talking across the fence when we noticed a "dog" down the street running towards us howling. As it got closer we noticed it wasn't a dog at all but a coyote. Not sure why it was howling but it was beating feet down the street while it was. Just ran past us and right out the end of town into the forest.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Guess it was about 25 or 30 years ago, my daughter and I lived in Chilhowee, MO.

Heard a lot of birds, and saw a few butterflys and looked up from our work to see Monarch Butterflys ALL around us, with the birds flying above and feasting on the slower butterflies. The Monarchs swarmed our back yard and some rested in the trees...seemed like you couldn't move an arm a foot without touching a butterfly....some even landed on us.

Suddenly, at some signal we heathen humans couldn't hear, the butterflys all went airborne at once, and headed west.

Mon


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## notwyse (Feb 16, 2014)

I hiked up to a sleeping mountain once. It was under a snag and sleeping on its back. We saw each other at about the same time. Cat flipped upright and watched me make a fool of myself. I fanned my jacket.. Waved my stick. Ultimately I just walked off...staying high. Only daylight cat I have ever seen...


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

the only thing I've seen that bothered me really was last week when I was out in the country waiting for the men to come get the tree down. I was unlocking the shed and something struck my leg. I looked down and it was the biggest snake I have ever seen except on tv . he was rearing back to strike again but I had the rake and slapped it. it slid under the shed. 

I thought all we had was garter snakes and little grass snakes. I see lots of them out in the field when I'm mowing. it was green speckled. some black. anyway he pierced my wellies. I did find some blood on my leg where he hit but that could have been when I was going through the bushes and whatnot. I suppose it could be one that had escaped captivity but we would have heard about something like that I guess. ~Georgia.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Both of mine were when I visited Elkhound. We were walking around on his mountain.

1. We saw a really small fawn curled up in some leaves. The look on Elk's face was priceless.

2. I saw my first black bear. It was coal black with a shiny coat. Loved seeing it.

One more

Once on a woman's deer hunt I was in a deer stand waiting for the sun to come up. Right a day break turkeys started flying off their roost. I bet it was close to a hundred of them. That was pretty awesome too.


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## Echoesechos (Jan 22, 2010)

newfieannie said:


> the only thing I've seen that bothered me really was last week when I was out in the country waiting for the men to come get the tree down. I was unlocking the shed and something struck my leg. I looked down and it was the biggest snake I have ever seen except on tv . he was rearing back to strike again but I had the rake and slapped it. it slid under the shed.
> 
> I thought all we had was garter snakes and little grass snakes. I see lots of them out in the field when I'm mowing. it was green speckled. some black. anyway he pierced my wellies. I did find some blood on my leg where he hit but that could have been when I was going through the bushes and whatnot. I suppose it could be one that had escaped captivity but we would have heard about something like that I guess. ~Georgia.


That would have freaked me out. Not fond of snakes AT ALL, and to have one strike me. Heart palpitations just reading that.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

On the east side of us, less than 1/4 mile away, there's a lake. On the west, there's a small patch of woods, then a field, normally planted to corn. A few years ago, they didn't get the corn harvested in time. We had Canada geese probably numbering in the hundreds flying back and forth between the 2. The noise of their wings and their honking was almost deafening.


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## Malamute (Sep 15, 2011)

Hmm,...stepping out in the night and seeing the Northern Lights blazing in the sky, walking in falling snow at night, hearing wolves howl in the distance, seeing the clouds hanging across the face of the mountains in ribbons after it rains or snows, the stunning neon electric colors of sunrise, watching 300 elk in their winter range, a tiny baby deer in the yard, the Mountain Goats on the side of a rock face hundreds of feet up, watching the dozens of birds crowd to the feeders in the winter when the snow is deep and its cold, seeing a bull moose up close, trout in the deep pools of a mountain stream, shooting stars, a full moon on snow at night, silence so deep its hard to believe its possible.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

My most remembered memory of nature was from years ago when I showed a friends son how to use a blade of grass to "talk" to a circling golden eagle.

The gleam in his eye as he whistled at the eagle himself and the eagle screeched back was priceless.


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

Nature is such an amazing place, and the animals and forces you see working hold me in awe, and make me realize I am such a small player...like a grain of sand on the beaches of the world!

I still do what I can to be a player in it though, as miniscule as I am.

The more time you spend in it, the more you see, and realize the interaction of all of it!. And I've been so blessed to spend my life in it... And to raise three boys that enjoyed it as well. They have moved on to other aspects that have somewhat taken them away from the closeness, but it didn't diminish their appreciation any. 

We are all a player in the grand scheme. What is good for everything around me, is also good for me.

This kinda goes back to the city versus country thread. I'm tired of laws created by people that have no understanding of life and living it well, in the country. Utilizing resources to make the best for me and everything else. Rather than lining pockets of people who don't give a ----(project that traps water)! They have been so far removed, that they don't have a clue.


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

Even our state DOW has become nothing more than a political organization, IMO. They havn't listened to their own wildlife bioligists in the past, but don't hesitate to do what they can to get more laws and regulations passed. Money in their pocket, and trying to justify all the jobs the govt has created, eh?

Our US forest service is another that's wildly out of control locally, and I would guess nationally? Our local office used to be administered by two people, a govt man and his secretary. Last time I checked (6 yrs ago) there were 22! And that many more vehichles plus fire wagons. It's not handled any differently, nor has qualities improved on the rangelands. THey have spent millions on recreating things lost when fires got away from them... But, you can now get a guided tour!


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

We have lots of deer in and around my yard. One Mama has twins every year it seems. She is pretty tame, rubs up to the cats eats my plants. last year for 3 days she would not let me get out of the carwhen I got home in the evening she would come up and close the car door on me. And just stand next to the car bass end up to the car door. Then walk away. 3rd day I got out before she showed up was standing with my butt bending over getting stuff out of the car car door open me standing indetween the door. She comes up face to face pushed me back up against the door and looked me in the eye then looked at the drive way then me then the driveway. Made a funny call and out comes the baby twins, she moves back lets one baby come to her and pushes it at me. The I see what she was trying to get me to do, the baby had a pus filled eye, I reached in the car to grab a klenex and came out with my daughter breast pad like in nursing, I was just able to reach the baby if I really reached, but I was able to wipe the eye and a winged bug and a lot of mess came away. Mama pushed the baby very close to me and blocked me and baby detween the car seat and car door. I was able to get the klenex and the eyedrops in my pocket book the second try. I now had baby in my lap and was able to rinse and wipe the eye. My they have very long lashes. Put the baby down and mama moved back and the other twin came up and they walked off. My kids had come out to get the grocerys from the car and they all just stood on the porch watching all of this and didnt say a word . When I got to the porch we noticed that the screen door had been kicked in and hoof marks on the metal dog guard all bent in, she had been kicking the door at some time that day trying to get our attention. I carried eye drops in my pocket for weeks hopeing I would get another chance to check her eye but she did not bring them close enough to touch, but I could see the eye looked fine.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

A hundred years ago my dad took me fishing on the back waters of a dam. Dad was rowing the boat--no outboard motor-- when a gosh awful thunder and lightning storm swept down on us. Dad decided we better get off the water. . . difficult because of all the logs along the shore line. Dad picked a pine tree to get up against. This pine was very short compared to the 70--80' trees around us. In between the monster display of thunder and lightning we started hearing a 'bleating' sound.. . . . Here comes a tiny fawn . . .scared from the storm. . . looking for its mother... . . .Never for get the look on its face . . .It came up to within 5 feet of us . . .Dad said quietly don't touch it . . . . .Sooner or later the fawn wondered away . . still bleating . . . . . . .
Hard to put into words the impression that fawn left on this youngster.


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## sustainabilly (Jun 20, 2012)

For me, personally, no single encounter stands out. I guess I often take it for granted that over the last 21 yrs living here, almost everything that flies, walks, or slithers in these parts has made an appearance at some time. Two exceptions of note would be rattlers and coyotes. 

My bedroom windows overlook the power co. right of way that follows the driveway and parking area, and continues up one side of our place. I'm usually up before dawn and I'll open the blinds to listen and watch the day start. The windows are already open, and at this time of year, the pre-dawn quiet is a sound unto itself. About a month and a half ago I got to watch a young bobcat pop out of the trees and skirt the edge of the mowed area all the way down till it went over the hill and on down to the beginning of the driveway. One thing's for sure. There's no wasted motion in those cats. I've had turkeys forage along right under my stand while deer hunting and once a red fox walked to about 20' of my ground blind before realizing something wasn't right. More times than I like to admit, deer have circled around behind me while I was still hunting and stamped. Like, HA HA! Tag! You're it.

The best one didn't happen to me though. One day, when my 16 yr old was a toddler, my ex and he were out on the lawn getting some sun and fresh air. Now, it gets _real_ quiet here in the middle of the day. As she told it, all of a sudden he came running up to her scared and shaking, and looked back. She looked where he was looking and there was a turkey that had wandered onto the side yard. Well, the turkey looked at the people. And the people looked at the turkey. By this time he's in her arms on the blanket. So she says, "Turkey." He looks at her with his eyes as big as saucers and says, "Big effiin' chicken!"


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

The view from the top of my mountain.


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2014)

Many of you have heard these stories a few years back...but there are newer folks who haven't..so..

When I was 10 , we lived in Yosemite..my family was, shall we say, "different" and my parents instructed us to say we were on vacation if a Park Ranger inquired...because we were there for several months, I had the opportunity to see and hear things that were not the normal experiences ..LOL..we lived in a 15 foot travel trailer...every morning, I had to wait for the bears before I could go outside to play..

5 "Big brown bears", AKA grizzlies, would run down the hill East of our camp,, cross the stream and then all climbed to the very tops of individual trees, so that their weight at the top would force the tree-tops to bend and swing as the bears shifted their weight...it was obvious that the bears loved this morning ritual..

Then they'd wander up the grade and into the camp ...garbage was put into a pail which was in the ground...you had to stomp on a lever so the metal cover would open, then reach in for the pail handle to empty it out..the bears got it open and reached in easily, flipping the 2 foot pail and the contents onto the ground...eventually, they'd leave and our day could begin..

There was a water hand pump well there...my job was to fill up the water buckets..One morning, I filled up one bucket, set it down right behind me and began to fill up another...I heard my father say loudly and slowly, "Lesley Ann! Don't move...don't turn around...do NOT move!!" so naturally, I turned around...there was a mother black bear with three cubs no more than 2 feet to my right...the cubs took turns drinking from the bucket behind me whiile mama bear just stood there looking at me...then she made a kind of low sound like "huff huff" and off they went...I got paddled for moving...my father said he was astonished that the mama bear let her cubs be next to me at all...I have forgotten what that paddling felt like, but never will forget that stare eyes with that mama bear for over 5 minutes while her babies were so close to me I could have easily scratched their ears...LOL...


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Billooo2 this this become a most excellent thread, thanks for starting it!! :goodjob:


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## rkintn (Dec 12, 2002)

I have been here forever, Leslie, and have never heard that story Thanks for sharing again


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Yes keep it going!


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## Vahomesteaders (Jun 4, 2014)

I have had many encounters while hunting that I have been blessed to see. Ive seen two 170 plus inch B&C deer fight at less than 50 yards from me throwing snot and dirt 15 20 feet in the air then watched a 150 ad 140 class come in looking for action, Ive had bald eagles land 20 feet from my stand and eat a snake on a rock in the middle of a creek, seen countless little critters like minks and otters play for hours. But my two most memorable encounters were both pretty great. I was still hunting one time. I was slowly moving through the woods and stopped to lean up against a tree for a bit. I heard something coming behind. It got right up to me and I just didnt move then it nudged my leg with its nose. It was a yearling deer. I use a scent called Deer Dander which is the greatest cover scent and attractant on the planet. And this deer thought I was one and sniffed me. lol The second was a time I was turkey hunting. I had a Tom fired up. It was just after daybreak but still in that blue phase. I heard a twig snap behind me then bam! I large fox jumped on my back and bit me! I was tucked into a little cedar tree and it jumped in blind from the backside thinking I was a turkey. Thank God when I made my first call on the edge of the field the turkey was very close so I didnt put the seat down that was attatched to my back. He bit that and didnt get the skin. But tore a whole in the seat pad. That scared me to death! I puckered up for sure. I elbowed it and he ran out in front of me and stopped. Had that ol Tom not been goblin he would have been toast. But I love everything about nature and love every minute in it.


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## Twp.Tom (Dec 29, 2010)

The Canadians summer here, and raise their Young every Spring/Summer,then fly away, come Fall/Winter. There are 5 families, of 5 to 7 goslings. They are just now , coming into feathers. Magnificent creatures!


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)




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## Guest (Jun 29, 2014)

VAHOMESTEADERS....what a story !!!!! I cannot imagine what that poor fox was thinking after he encountered you instead of a juicy turkey !! LOL LOL LOL


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2014)

I've got one more...almost identical to Bill002's..

I was 5 or 6..we lived in Maine then..Kennebunk..my father and a good friend of his decided to go fishing..the friend had a double-ender, and they hauled it over to an inlet cove..My father didn't want me in the boat..(good thinking) no life jacket and deep water..so, he put me on one of those gigantic rocks ..it was wide and long..walked out on it from the beach a good 50 yards or more...so there I sat close to the edge, watching my father and Mr. Noble fishing..

There was a large disturbance in the water...lots of splashy noises, and up rose a whale...!! It rose up out of the water and looked at ME...I looked at it..LOL..
then it quietly sank back..my father pulled those oars so fast he nearly broke his arms...they wanted to get far away from that whale..!!!

and lastly, when my children were small, I took them to the Missouri Wolf Sanctuary...(it's still there)...it had a cyclone fence that must have been 25 feet high...there were other families along the fence, trying to see the wolves who were waaaaay in the back acreage ignoring everyone..as soon as we walked up, I saw a wolf get up and look in our direction curiously...he was joined by all of the other wolves...I think there were 7 of them..THEN the wolves began moving towards the fence..and all of them sat down in front of ME...they sat there and looked, and whined and wagged tails...I swear if that had happened in the Middle Ages, I'd have been burned as a witch..LOL..
The Sanctuary people said they'd never seen them do that before...

I stood there and talked to them..as I would any animal.."Aren't you all beautiful!". etc..after a good long while, they went back to the far wooded area...my children remember that as if it were yesterday...

I guess animals like to stare at me...LOL LOL LOL..


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## gweny (Feb 10, 2014)

I was spending a summer in a cabin at the top of a mountain in new York state... So beautiful. At the bottom of the mountain was a friend of the family / homesteader that raised angus. He was a Vietnam vet who had lost his legs. We always would stop on our way to town and see if he needed anything. He was also some how ensorcelled in 'the family' though it's not something we spoke of. We just knew we had to announce ourselves before we got out of the car because the guy was always ready to start shooting and seemed genuinely concerned that his life was in great peril (he was concerned about being seen in town so we helped). 
This particular time he did not answer our announcement, his phone, or continued hollering.... We knew something was wrong. Finally my fiancÃ© decided to get out of the car and look for him.
Seconds later he came back and motioned for me to get out and grab a rifle (kept in the trunk). As we turned the corner of the house I saw the door knocked in and streaks of blood like something was dragged. We quietly crept up to the porch. Peering around the door frame I saw no one, no movement, and more blood... Blood everywhere. I followed close behind my fiancÃ© as he swiftly entered the house. The blood streaks led around a peninsula / island in the kitchen. Swiftly and quickly my DF rounded the counter while I covered him. Then he paused, looked puzzled, and bursts into laughter.
Our homesteader friend was gutting a really big bear right where he had dropped it, in the kitchen. The blood streaks were from the guy dragging himself out to the tool shed for his 'good skinning knife' after shooting a bear up close that was raiding his fridge.

Also walked up on some rustling bushes to find to porcupines mating once... Thought to myself "oh that's how they do that! (Poking each other without poking each other)


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## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

I would like to have seen the porcupines! LOLOL That was a really good story!!


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I don't know if this fits with the subject, but here goes. When I went to live with my brother and his family in California at 14 (half-brother 21 years older than me), he was some kind of chief in the navy. One day he said he was going to take me to see something special. We got into this big, really strange looking truck and drove down to the beach...and when we got there we just kept driving straight into the water! I was freaking out, lol! It was an amphibian, but I never knew such a thing existed until then. 

Anyway, we drove out a mile or two off Port Hueneme (pronounced Why-nee-mee), where there was a pen of dolphins they were training. Even then, before all the consciousness raising and animal preservation stuff, I felt bad for the dolphins, but he said they were treated very well while in training and then were released back to the open sea. There was a huge net under the water with a square platform around the perimeter of some kind of boards. He let me get down onto the boards to see and hand feed the dolphins, very cool! They'd let me pet them too.

While I was trying to reach one dolphin that seemed to be trying real hard to get my attention, I slipped on those slippery boards and fell into the pen and hit my head on the boards! I was stunned for a minute and started sinking, but that one dolphin came and got underneath me and pushed me back to the surface and halfway onto the boards, where the guys pulled me out. 

While she was pushing me, she kept rubbing her head back and forth against my chest and belly. Maybe it was part of her pushing, but it felt almost like she was "petting" me to comfort me. Also, the whole time she was trying to get to me and pushing me up and after the guys got me out she was making this soft whistling and clicking noise. The guys said they'd never heard that particular sound from her before. Before they led me away, she looked like she was smiling, but her eyes looked so sad. I thanked her, told her I'd never forget her and petted her one last time. 

It was beautiful but kind of sad too, kind of like your dog does when you're sick or crying and they're trying to comfort you. It's hard to explain how I felt, but it was a very moving experience that I've never forgotten.

My brother said that for a few days after that, every time the men would go out to the holding pen, she'd start making that same noise and raising up out of the water, pushing against the net to try to look in the boat. They'd never seen her do that before either. They said she moped around for about a week and wouldn't eat or let anyone touch her before finally becoming her normal self again. Apparently, we were much talked about on base for a while. 

Do you think she felt some kind of connection between us? Was she just motherly and tending to a girl in need? Was it just coincidence? None of the other dolphins reacted that way or anything even close. My brother said she'd never acted that way before or since. I'd say maybe she had lost a baby and I was a surrogate, but the navy had been tracking her since birth and said she'd never had a baby. It was just a very strange and sort of surreal experience. I dreamed of her for years after that and still do occasionally. One of my best memories ever.


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

We lived in Alaska for 25 years, and ran into all kinds of animals. My DD was about 10 and we had been across the bay, up a fjord clamming. The sides of the fjord were really steep and sandy and on the way back to the boat, my DD was crouched at the edge of the water washing her hands. A killer whale came up out of the water about 20 feet away and looked at her, holding itself up to see well. She stood and we watched the whale finish looking, go down and glide away.

It was years later when I told that story yet again that I realized the whale thought she was a seal, and was looking for dinner! If she hadn't stood up, she may have been eaten.

Another time I was driving to town and right when the sidewalk started (we were out farther than it was paved) there was a young man quietly walking on the side of the road. A young male moose with his antlers in velvet was feeling his oats and charged the man from the cover of the nearby trees. I opened the passenger door, slowed down next to the pedestrian, he jumped in and we took off, leaving the puzzled moose with nothing to attack.

Kit


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

I have had many incredible encounters with nature, but these are three that instantly sprang to mind:

I was once scuba diving off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, hanging out at a depth of no more than about 30 feet. I was âhoveringâ, looking around at all the beauty: Garibaldi fish coming up to kiss my mask, moray eels tucked into little rock caves, beautiful seaweed waving in the clear, aqua blue water. I was slowly floating down to rest my knees on the sea floor while keeping my eye on some 7-ish-foot blue sharks that had come round to investigate us. Just as my knees were about to touch the sand, up sprang a massive flounder, right where I was about to land! He was huge, easily 4 1/2 feet across. He had shivered himself into the sand to hide, and I didnât see him at all until he broke for his escape. I nearly swallowed my regulator, he startled me so bad! I did forget about the sharks for a minute (they never bothered us at all)!

Similar experience was while snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. There is no way to describe the beauty of the Reef. Crazy bright corals, abundant colorful fish of every imaginable configurationâ¦ but for me, the highlight was one of those 6-foot tall giant clams that closed up as my fin brushed his lips. Theyâre just like in the cartoons!! Such a cool memory!!

In 2002, the Leonid meteor shower was especially spectacular. I happened to wake up around 2 a.m., couldnât sleep. I pulled a giant feather bed cover around my shoulders, made a cup of hot tea and went out on a balcony of my home to see what I could see. The activity was jaw-dropping. It was very coldâ¦ despite the bed cover, I struggled to stay warm. I decided Iâd go back inside after I counted 100 meteors. I was back in my bed and warmly tucked up in less than an hour. The meteors streaked across the sky sometimes as many as 6 at a time. What a show! So humbling â Iâll never forget it.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Malamute said:


> Hmm,...stepping out in the night and seeing the Northern Lights blazing in the sky, walking in falling snow at night, hearing wolves howl in the distance, seeing the clouds hanging across the face of the mountains in ribbons after it rains or snows, the stunning neon electric colors of sunrise, watching 300 elk in their winter range, a tiny baby deer in the yard, the Mountain Goats on the side of a rock face hundreds of feet up, watching the dozens of birds crowd to the feeders in the winter when the snow is deep and its cold, seeing a bull moose up close, trout in the deep pools of a mountain stream, shooting stars, a full moon on snow at night, silence so deep its hard to believe its possible.


Why do you torture us so?!?!?!?


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

LOL, I think he really enjoys doing that.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Mine was bear. Little black bear. Maybe just old enough to be away from mamma but maybe not. Three of us were out riding the horses and I was leading back to the barn. Tommy's ears were doing the radar antennae thing--spinning in all directions, when out popped the bear. We scared him more and he took off, ducking behind a tree. He put his paws out and then peered out from behind the tree at us. We decided that he might not be old enough to be away from mom and thought it prudent to head back to the barn, swiftly. I wasn't too worried. My horse raced at Belmont Park and the others, well not quite in the same league. LOL


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I was walking up towards my house last night when I saw a skunk running across the neighbor's yard. I was glad it wasn't in my yard and was heading in the opposite direction!


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

Last year, before we had a chance to throw out our recently-filapidated grill, a pair of wrens built a nest and raised a clutch of babies in it.

I would go out at least once a day and open the lid to peer at them and take pics. At first, the parents were upset with this, but after a couple days, grew used to me being there.

The first clutch moved on, and the parents raised a second clutch of babies.

They grew bigger, and I lamented that they would soon move on.

One afternoon, I was in my kitchen doing dishes, and both the parent wrens were at the window making a heck of a racket. They were both dancing back and forth on the deck railing, and one even tapped on the window with its beak.

I went outside, fearing a predator, and opened the grill lid. 

Three of the five babies had managed to fly off, but two of them couldn't figure out how to get out of the grill. Once I opened it, they flew off, as did the parents. Guess my only function was to open the roof of their house twice a day... but they knew how to get my attention.


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## wyld thang (Nov 16, 2005)

loving everyone's stories!

was on a hike up the Hoh river with a friend, he was hoping to get a good foto of an elk. in the evening one came up the river, he perched on a giant downed log(this puppy was like 10 ft dbh, and that big bull elk just came closer and closer and ended up grazing at my friend's feet. Afterwards he was like "what kind of voodoo are you that calls up the elk?" ha!

been having amazing experiences with horses lately, seriously, it's mind reading stuff. it's kinda freaking me out...in a good way. a cranky one swings to nip me when I saddle him, I say in my mind, peacefully, "no" and he stops...he's been biting and kicking other people.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I'm with Wyld, I love all these stories, great thread! I have another one. I try not to think about it too much, because it still kind of freaks me out, lol. First, you have to know that I've always been deathly afraid of snakes, though it's better now since I've been living in the county and trying to force myself to get more used to them. I used to be so terrified I couldn't even watch them in video or even in print like in a magazine!

When my ex and I were dating, we went to the zoo. We were in the reptile house, which I already wasn't crazy about, but I didn't want him to know what a wuss I was, lol, so I was acting brave. It was pretty busy, and the line was filing slowly past the glass enclosures of the big snakes. People ahead of us were disappointed because the snakes all seemed to be asleep.

Well, just as I stepped in front of the cobra display, it reared up and stared right at me. I don't know how big it was, but it sat on five or six big coils, and its body was raised up about 4'. It's head flared out and it started weaving back and forth, the whole time just staring a hole through me and flicking its tongue in and out. People started oohing and aahing and crowding all around us, waving at it and even tapping the glass to get its attention, but it only looked at me. All the other big snakes started moving around in their enclosures too, but not at attention like it was.

By then it was really freaking me out, so I started to move to get away from it, and the second I moved it struck the glass right in front of me! People were really excited! I just wanted to get out of there, but there were too many people crowded around. It kept striking and striking, aimed right at my face, until it actually cracked the glass!  

Then everyone started screaming and running out. Zoo keepers came running and went in and closed off the reptile house so no one could go in. By that time I was shaking all over and felt like I was about to pass out. My ex had to practically drag me out and had me sit down and drink some water until I got back to normal. 

Just as we got up to go on, the zoo keepers came back out and said they had to tranquilize it (didn't ask how, didn't want to know, lol!) and that they'd never seen any of their snakes act like that, especially the cobra. They said they had been considering getting rid of it because it was always so docile and just laid there or slept when people came through, so the visitors were disappointed! They didn't even realize it could strike hard enough to crack the glass, and they'd never heard of it happening at a zoo anywhere before.

Needless to say, that was my last voluntary trip anywhere near a snake, ROFL! It also greatly intensified my life-long nightmares for many years to come. I'll probably have nightmares again for a couple of weeks just from talking about it now. :shivers: That was an encounter with "nature" that I never wish to repeat, ha!


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I can't say I blame you! That would have freaked me out as well. I don't mind small snakes, but I have to admit to not liking big ones.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I took a walk down by the lake this morning with Grizz, DSs dog. I was on a paved path about 30' from the lake when a doe deer came rushing from the left (lake on the right) It was 3' from my left shoulder and headed for the dog before I knew what was going on. Grizz ran it off like he was protecting me but the doe just kept coming back, getting 6' from me. Grizz was scared and cowering behind me. She would not stop coming at me. I was trying to get away while controlling the dog and protecting myself. About 10 steps and I almost stepped on a tiny new born fawn in the tall grass. When I got to looking the fawn was all tangled in fishing line. The doe just stood there, 10 feet away, so I reached down and untangled it. It bleated a couple times but the doe never moved. Finally I got it untangled and it took off toward Mom. She just stood there and let the fawn nurse and then just walked off, looking back once and all was good....James


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

I hate it when people leave fishing line by the water like that. Wildlife gets tangled up in it frequently, and I ended up w/a hook in my leg when we were cleaning it up once.


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