A Year in the Forest

I went into the forest later than normal about 7:15 pm as dusk was beginning to fall.  I knew I did not have much time before dark and so hurried the trek.  I stopped briefly to pick a couple honey mushrooms to take back home and try my luck with them.  Just as I had descended down to the stream bed I heard something behind me uphill in the forest.  I turned just in time to see something bounding in the woods.  The bounding stopped with a loud catlike growl and some other noises.   I guess it got whatever it was attacking.  It got my attention.  The growl was more like the growl of a cougar than a bobcat.  We have bobcats around here not much larger than a large house cat but this sounded bigger.  There are reports every year of a large cat like creature in the area, some from people I know.  But they have never been confirmed.  I kept an eye on my back side as I went through the creek area.  As I was coming up out of the bottom area, I heard something in the woods below.  I have spent many hours in the woods and never heard anything like that before.