The deep dark woods

On Saturday morning I was washing dishes and looking out the kitchen window when I saw what looked like a deer. Seeing deer is common, so I wasn't paying close attention until it lifted its head and had what looked like an elephant's trunk. What? Then it lumbered off into the woods, into that dark hole in the center of the photo. It was walking like a big cat, not a deer, and I noticed just before it disappeared, that the trunk was probably a dead fawn in the big cat's mouth. I clearly saw legs hanging down.

Of course I wish I had taken a photo, but a photo of a deer would not be all that exciting so I didn't even think to grab the camera. By the time I realized it was probably a mountain lion/cougar, it was gone. Other close neighbors have reported seeing this big cat around here, the size of an adult deer but shorter and stockier, but the naysayers say there are none in this area. I had posted my sighting on a local group on Facebook just to make people aware that there is at least one big cat here, and I got 150+ comments in the ongoing debate. (Maybe I enjoy a good debate now and then. Maybe I made a few of those comments defending my beliefs.)

As we have a large portion of our property preserved with a conservation easement specifically to encourage wildlife and to sustain the natural environment, I am in awe that we have these beautiful creatures here. But I must admit that I am also afraid now to go into the deep dark woods as carelessly as I have done before. I now have an even greater respect for Mother Nature.