Thursday, September 29, 2016

Strange Things by Mary Alford


My husband and I live out in the country, which is a huge blessing. We have no close neighbors so it’s very peaceful and I love it.

But let me tell you, through the years, we’ve seen some pretty interesting things around here. Whether it be mountain lions, wild hogs, bobcats, various fowl life passing through, or simply a snorting and angry deer, it’s never a dull moment in the country.

One night while sitting outside in front of a fire we heard a noise that sounded like something straight out of a horror movie. My husband and I both wanted to run.

But I have to say, the strangest and most amazing thing I’ve witnessed lately happened when our three granddaughters were out visiting a few weeks back. We took them on a ride in our side by side four wheeler and what we saw, well, we couldn’t believe our eyes. There in the small creek that crosses our property was a group of otters. Otters in Texas? We were certainly stunned. I’ve seen them on TV and at the aquarium in Galveston, but never in the wild.
My husband got online and did some checking. As it turns out river otters originally ranged across most of the eastern half of Texas and even into the Panhandle. The animals were and are inexorably tied to rivers, creeks, bayous and other waterways. In the past, a lot of otters disappeared due to habitat loss or degradation and unregulated hunting and trapping, but they are making a comeback and that sure was lucky for us.

Unfortunately, we only spotted the little otters, (there were six of them) one more time so I think they were just passing through. But still, how great is it to be able to show your granddaughters real live otters in the wild. Thank you God.

So what about you? What is the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?

 

All the best…

 

Mary Alford


    

 

5 comments:

Sally Shupe said...

Love your story of otters! My strangest thing was when a hellgrammite turned adult winged Dobson fly was on the side of our house. I saw the shadow through the window. It was huge! I'd never seen one before. The Hellgrammite is the larvae stage and the Dobson fly is the adult stage.

Mary Alford said...

Sounds creepy, Sally. I hadn't heard of a Hellgrammite before. Thanks for sharing.

Jackie Smith said...

I have not seen Sally's creature either!! We moved to the country 5-6 yrs. ago. I love seeing the deer, but just can't help shivering when I see an armadillo. They have not been in this area but just a few years. They do lots of damage to lawns, shrubs....traps don't work.

Sally Shupe said...

I have lived in the same place for 25 years. We are celebrating our 25th anniversary in October. I have only seen one lol. I had to look it up to see what it was. A fishing place down the road from us has them on a sign for fishermen. I haven't gone to see what a whole bunch at one time would look like lol.

Mary Alford said...

Jackie, yes, armadillos cause a lot of damage. I've been told they carry leprosy as well.