Last night i was startled awake from a dead sleep by a noise that shook the bed. I thought something must have fallen in the house and hit the floor, causing the bed to shake. When i turned on the light and looked around i couldn’t find anything out of place. I tried not to think anything of it as i climbed back in bed but the noise was loud and i felt when i woke that something heavy had moved in order to create the noise and vibration. I expected to find something broken or a mess to clean up but there was nothing. Both dogs sat at attention with wide eyes, Sili in the bed and Cashew in her crate. They had heard and felt it too.
Just a few minutes ago i was crossing the floor to place the potatoes in the preheated oven when i heard the exact same noise, but this time i was awake. It shook the floor again. Something was running into the skirting of the house. It wasn’t the armadillo. He frequently ran into the skirting at night as armadillos are virtually deaf and blind, but the noise he made as he dug against it was soft, hesitant, and minimal. This thing had rammed the house violently with a lot of body weight. I peered through the curtains. I saw nothing but darkness. I wondered what kind of animal could be knocking on our den to see if anything came out. The dogs had wide eyes like they did last night but both were silent. If it were a small animal they’d be barking. The dogs are silent when they assess the threat could be bigger than them and deem it best to go undetected. I decided research was in order. I would need to let them out at half past midnight and i would have to leave for work at 3:30 am. For now, until i figured out what kind of animal was ramming the house, the dogs were grounded for the night. They didnt seem to mind.
Update: my research has not yielded any definitive results. None of the candidates for the noise and vibrations are desirable options. Let’s just say that for now, my frequent trips outside to hunt bugs in the dark for the chickens each night are on hold.
Last night there was something just past the well house making noise in the grass while i collected june bugs on the porch. I waited for an armadillo to come into view but it never did. If anyone has any ideas what might be running into the house and why i’m all ears.
**** **** ****! It’s a mountain lion. There was a raccoon on the porch. at first i thought it was our mystery visitor and when it was just a raccoon i breathed a sigh of relief. I went to the bathroom. I had a true crime show playing on the cell phone so i propped it up on the counter while i peed. I started hearing growling. i figured sili was probably having a dream so i looked over and was surprised to see her up on her feet. I paused the tv show on my phone, killing the sound. The growling continued, low and rumbling. The racoon had stopped making noise and disappeared off the porch.
I thought this was going to be a ghost story at first but now I’m not sure what would be scarier lol! Can you put out a night vision camera to maybe catch it? I’m super curious now…
I have a game camera in a tree down by the intersection where i put the trash can weekly because people dont know how to act and the sheriff needed proof before he could do anything about those gifting me their trash (the private service will only remove two bags a week so if someone dumps two in my can after they come i cant get rid of my own next week). Also, ive had people just empty open beer bottles into my can, bottle by bottle, until its a weird fermented trash soup…charming. I havent checked that one in a while, though it should be recording anything that moves…the motion sensor triggers it to snap a picture. However, i dont currently have one set up at the house. I should perch one on the dog run pointed at this wall and see what it is. Maybe i will pick up another one at walmart after work one day this week.
Whatever it is its got the dogs spooked. Cashew normally sleeps in front of the front door. Both dogs are sleeping in the back of the house right now.