Bigfoot Hunt #2 Continued

 I worked my way through the three camping areas, going past numerous hunting camps. Down the road, I pulled over for a hunting truck since I was going slower, and as it passed by, it stopped. I asked the two hunters inside, "Have you seen Bigfoot?"  \
  "Yeah" was the unenthusiastic reply. and then one said they had dogs to catch, and they moved on. Then I encountered a hunter standing in front of his truck using his flashlight to try to find dogs. I stopped, and he explained, " We have a female out running a deer, and she won't come in." He was a young man, a big boy, and I asked him the question. He responded, "No, I haven't, sir."
  "There's been sightings in here," I said.
  "I know," he replied. He seemed lost in thought for a minute and then said, "You know they caught Bigfoot a couple of years ago."
   "They did? What's the story?"
   "They called him the Chinaman because he was Chinese. He lost his job and his home and started living in the woods. He grew long hair. You can research this. He started causing problems because he caught dogs, took off their collars, and ate them. The police finally caught him, put him in jail, but he escaped, and hasn't been seen since."
"Wow!" I remarked.
 We stayed in ackward silence for a bit until he said, "Well, I have to go look for that dog, sir."
  I thanked him for talking to me and drove on. After almost an hour of putting along, I came out to a field on my right and figured I was near Route 470 again. I encountered another dirt road on my left and shined the Maglite down the road at a height of 8 to 10 feet. I thought how absurd that would look to onlookers. Looking for a ten foot tall biped. Somewhat chastened, I shined my flashlight directly on the road. I picked up something that was a mottled brown and black. My batteries were running down for the light was much dimmer. Finally, I realized it was a house cat who was smelling something on the road. When she looked up to me, I got shiny lights reflected from her timpanem, I believe it's called. When I said something to her, she became alarmed and disappeared up the road. I didn't know this cat was a precursor to somebody much bigger. Soon I was back in civilization at Route 470. Relieved, I decided to turn around and check out what looked like a state game checking station. It was. There was a list of deer and hogs killed and their weights.
There were only about four each, a surprisingly low number. Without feeders to attract and hold deer and hogs, they are hard to find. Also, they don't eat and thrive as well. This was witnessed by the weights of the deer and hogs. Except for the first deer, a big one at 190 pounds, the rest were puny, all a little above 100 pounds. The hogs were thin too, also just a little over a 100 pounds. I found a game management phamplet and learned I was in the Richloam Game Management Area, The road I had taken was named Main Road and continued off the map into the next county. I had almost traveled into that county. I then called Hilda to let her know I was okay. Then I got onto 470. There was some traffic so I kept my low beams on as I drove through the rest of Green Swamp, south Florida. Suddenly, I saw somebody crossing the road to my side. It was gray, high, and very long. My first impression was that he was a panther. When he crossed to my side of the road, he started to go into the swamp, didn't like the spot, came my way a few feet, and then entered the swamp and was gone. I didn't see a tail but I didn't see a head either, and he had to have a head. It  happened so fast and I was so intent on watching that I didn't think to move my left hand a couple of inches and turn on the high beams. That would have shed a lot of light on the subject. I hope this does it for being stunned by seeing unusual animals. I don't want to be that way when I see Bigfoot. The animal seem to flow, his body didn't not show the movement that you would see in a deer or even a dog. It was much too long and big for a bobcat which has the body type of a cocker spaniel. The head of a deer is usually very conspicuous. I have, for sure, seen a Florida panther and a cougar. An acquaintance of mine had one of each together in a cage. I even brought them a deer killed on the road. It was so painful seeing those creatures in a small cage that I couldn't make myself visit them more than I did. It was viewing torture.I avoid zoos for the same reason.All I can say is that I think I saw a gray panther. I have collected over 500 sightings of panthers, mostly in Florida, and can recall only one being described as gray. But since we have a black morph, and you can be sure black morphs breed with the tan ones, it is reasonable to expect a gray panther to be produced. I didn't see Bigfoot, but it was a great night. This sighting was around midnight, and I got home at 3 a.m. Happy trails to you, Two-Guns.

Bigfoot Hunt #2 Green Swamp, South Florida

On Thanksgivng Day, I got to Green Swamp around 7 p.m and planned to go through the swamp, about thirty miles wide by way of Route 470. Green Swamp is just north of Tampa, Florida and very near, if not contiguous to Land  O'  Lakes, where, though or because it has recently become highly developed. there have been numerous Bigfoot sightings including a confused, possibly homeless, Bigfoot standing in the middle of the road with traffice stopped on both sides. Green Swamp is also rich in encounters and still very primitive. Going up 470, I saw a paved road marked 788 and turned in. The road lasted only a hundred yards or so ending at a big gate with a sign announcing a conservation center. There was a large building beyond the locked gate. I saw a dirt road going off to the left that went into the swamp. Soon I saw what looked like a game-checking shed on the right. I should have stopped to see if I could find a map but was eager to get on the with the hunt. I drove very slowly, about 10 mph, shining my 4 cell Maglite flashlight into side roads, openings, and watery areas. In two places on the road I found small trees and shrubs lying on the road and wondered if Bigfoot might have done that. I thought back to a recent story from Washington State about two boys on a fishing-camping trip seeing a Bigfoot across the creek they were fishing. The creature climbed a skinny tree and rode it down into the creek. Then he began wading the rest of the way toward the two boys. Terrified, the boys ran back to camp to tell their parents. Their parents informed the investigator that they had been to the creek earlier that day fishing and the there had been no tree in the creek. I passed three hunting campsites filled with hunters, camping trailers, canopys, tents, and trucks with dog boxes.You could hear the generators working.  Only one or two dogs bothered to bark as I drove by. I imagine the rest were exhausted and asleep. I was happy to see women hunters around the campfires as it projected a more civilized, family atmosphere. I soon lost my phone conversation with my daughter Hilda who had called me,concerned about where I was. I really didn't know except in Green Swamp somewhere. The road had turned from dust to mud as I got deeper into the swamp. I could see that the road was going downhill. The gas gauge showed half a tank, but it is not linear; the latter half goes much more quickly than the first half. I was able to stay in second instead of having to use the four wheel drive. Second was much quieter. Of course, I had both windows down so I could hear any noise though I knew Bigfoot was famous for thrusting his hand inside windows and fishing around with his huge hands.I made sure my filleting knife was on the passenger's seat. I remembered how I had heard hogs grunting and moving around in the Okeefenokee Swamp on the perimeter road years ago. I had stopped the vehicle and the hogs worked their way out to the road. Taking only my hiking stick out of the vehicle, I had stalked very close to them. I went as far as my nerves allowed, and they never saw me. Maybe Bigfoot would do the same though I didn't know if  I would find the nerve to approach him. I had driven twelve miles into the Green Swamp now. It had taken me over an hour. I didn't know where I was, and most importantly, I was unarmed. I turned around. I went back through the hunters' campsites, happy to see people. By now, most of the campfires were burned down, and the hunters were in their sleeping bags. In all the camps, there was only one campfire that still had a group of men sitting around it. I made sure to switch off my high beams as I passed through. Little did I know, the wildest part of my hunt was still to come. To Be Continued. You take care, Two-Guns.

Bigfoot Hunt at Jennings Forest, Notheast Florida #1

Several days ago, I drove up to Jennings Forest which is a state park. I took Long Road at the north end into the forest. The hunt did not begin well. I stopped a young woman on horseback, escorted by her Pit Bull and her Heeler. When I asked her about seeing a Bigfoot, she laughed and asked, " You mean there are Bigfoot here? Wait until I tell my husband?" Since her horse's tracks were almost everywhere I went, I wasn't overly optimistic that I would see Bigfoot. However, I was scanning diligently both sides of the forest and glassing some areas. Very few people do that, especially one on horseback with two dogs underfoot. Much of the area I covered was managed for quail which meant there was controlled burning. The palmettoes were only about two feet tall and there was no other underbrush. Of course, there was the omnipresent pine tree except that there were actually areas of deciduous trees. This is a rarity in Florida. The whole state, where there is open land, appears to be a pine plantation. I growled and prowled but saw only a vulture, two doves, and three deer. I flushed the deer at dusk and thought I saw two with one seeming to break down on the front legs when he ran. I hypothesized he was a shot deer. Wanting to be sure I saw two deer and not just one, I got out and walked into the open, deciduous woods. Just as I turned back to the truck, the deer panicked, burst out of their stationary mode, and ran. There were two. I found round, two inch wide tracks in the sand which could have been panther. Later, I walked upon two inch round tracks with two claws extended in clay. He could either have been a panther or a bobcat. Deer tracks were plentiful. I saw old hog rooting and brand-new turkey scratching right by the road. That was testimony to how lightly the park is used by vehicles. The park is open to hunting BUT by permit only. Even though it was the weekend, there was almost no one around. I only saw three trucks. This probably explains why all the Bigfoot sightings I've read about from Jennings have come from young people from neighboring homes. There are almost no adults around and almost no hunters to be bumping the Bigfoot. Jennings Forest is only 25,000 acres compared to Ocala Forest's 400, 000. Big difference. I talked to three hunters, and they did not relate any sightings or signs of Bigfoot. One hunted regularly at Osceola Forest (Swamp)  and had seen nothing there either. A good ole boy in a well-used truck with his fellow hunting companion told me that a friend of his had seen two Bigfoot in the Chiefland, Florida area and got angry when he wasn't believed. He had an aunt in the Perry, Florida area who had driven by the Aucilla River in her daily commute as a nurse and seen a Bigfoot. She was so traumatized by the sighting that she takes an alternate route to work. A friend of his took an 18 day campting trip to northern California, prime Bigfoot country, and climbed a mountain one day. In doing that, he heard a unique growl-howl that had to be Mr. Bigfoot. The two good ole boys went on ,and at dusk I heard a shot from their area. They looked like woodsmen. That was the only shot I heard all day. Please report your sightings to me. 352-359-0850  Thanks, Two-Guns.

Bulletproof Battles To Save La-La's Eye

  First, a word to honor the death of Iranian blogger, Satar Behesti, 35 years old. He was taken into custody by Iran's cyberpolice, the FTA, and beaten to death last Tuesday by the police. He wrote posts critical of the Iranian government and had only ten followers. But that was enough for the hateful fundamental Islamists to consign him to torture to the death. When will Islamists realize that the love is found in Christianity? Its paramount commandment according to Jesus is to love God and your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Doing the loving thing is the road to peace. I only hope Satar's family and friend tried to impress upon him the danger of criticism in such a criminal government. That probably would have been the most loving thing to do for him if they couldn't offer him the means to get out of Iran.
  La-La, a crazy rescued horse, picked up a cut in her eye, possibly from a branch across the fence or even by rubbing it herself. At any rate, it is infected. Horses cannot take anti-infections on a long term basis as humans and dogs can. Thus, the clock is running. In addition, an ulcer or summer infection from flies was found on her inner eye. This ulcer now must be treated first. The vet is not optimistic. If necessary, he will take the eye with the horse standing and then sew her socket shut.
  On a happier note, I was walking down to my feeding station in the woods today and jumped a small yearling deer. She was bedded down in the weeds of my overgrown archery range and was so panicked that she stumbled when she got up and ran off as quickly as possible. She ran close close to the ground and  almost looked like a rabbit.  I hypothesized that she was lieing close to the feeding station to get to the corn first. I also have a  Rack Rock there to attract deer, supposedly giant bucks with huge antlers that will fulfill any trophy hunter's dreams. The rock contains attractants and healthy minerals for deer. I retraced my steps and found a young gopher turtle lying on his carapace or back. Tuk-Tuk, the yellow lab, must have nosed him over. The disturbing thing is that I apparently had walked over the turtle on the way to the feeding station without seeing him. Not a good thing to be doing on a warm day in Florida, home to many dangerous snakes. Careful trails, Two-Guns

Dangerous Situation Looking For Bigfoot

  I was over by the Gulf of Mexico checking out a Bigfoot feeding pit when I had to drive by a group of young men on a back road. They weren't quite as tall as me or as big, but there were many of them. As I started to drive by, I saw that they had stretched something across the road in front of me. As my vehicle went into it, and the group wasn't showing any weapons, I chanced getting out of my truck to see what the guys had stretched across my truck. As I got out, I tried to discreetly put my right hand into my pant pocket to see if I had a knife there. Immediately one of the young men began addressing me as "
Sir" and saying everything was all right. I returned the "Sir" and saw that the material used was just yarrn. I got back into the truck and drove on, thankful I wasn't the recipient of a, how do you say it?, Jovan Martin moment. I found the pit but there was no sign Bigfoot was coming in or any sign of anything being dumped lately. Just wait for hunting season.Happy trails, Two-Guns

Cowboy And Rooster, Continued

I conclude that not taking antidepressants for the past two days had made me weepy, but I worried, of course, about the next time. It is obvious that all these deaths - about twenty- are wearing Bulletproof out.
They could be doing the same to me. It is wonderful that she provides thirty dogs, mostly rescues, a life-time of good care, but it entails a financial and emotional commitment that may yet be impossible to bear. I've told you of the house payments that go unpaid so the dogs can get care. The same goes for dental care. Both Bulletproof and I have holes in our mouths because the money can not go to dental care for prosthetic teeth. Life for most of us is living with scarce resources that have althernate uses.
  In addition, I feel a disconnect with our children. All their lives, Bulletproof stressed the importance of appearances, while my tiny voice in the family stressed character. You can guess what the children learned. Now in her love for the dogs and much more limited resources that what she had when she started taking in the thirty dogs, Bulletproof has done a 180 degree turn. She gives up appearances for character - undying devotion to helpless animals. Our children are self-indulgent. They have and do many things we parents never had. For example, Hawkeye has two boats that work. When I was employed, I tried but only once got a boat in the water and had it work. It was something I was always working on to get fixed, but I could never quite make it. I am happy for my children's prosperity and seeing that they are doing beter than their parents.
But there's more to life than opening your mouth and consuming as much as possible. Our grandson, Could Be, is four years old. He should know where his grandmother lives. Even if his mother Hilda and Bulletproof think he would be overwhelmed by twenty dogs inside the house, he can still  stay outside and see the dogs, horses and billygoat from the fences. Bulletproof can bring out leashed dogs and tell Could Be their stories. The boy's in school. What happens if everyone is going to grandmother's for Thanksgiving, and he's asked if he going to his grandmother's? If he says he's not because his grandmother lives an impossible two hours away, and he's never been there, the other students and staff may think there's something odd going on. It's always been a part of our family legend how I , at age two,stood on the hump on the front seat floor for almost the entire 12 hour trip to my grandmother's house from Virginia to Massachusetts. I supposedly was helping Rooster (my father) scout the way. I think that our children are slowly getting the message that materialism is only half the story. Both have two dogs and think the world of them. More importantly, they take very good care of them. Hilda has a 110 pound African Ridgeback puppy who is completely out-of-place in their house and small lot on the side of a golf course. But Hilda takes her over to a dog park almost every day where the Ridgie can run without a leash. Hawkeye has two Labrador Retriever rescues. One is on his way to becoming a legendary Florida duck dog. I asked Bulletproof if Hawkeye still used the  expression "they're only dogs." Her reply was, "Oh no." There's progress being made and it needs to include that little boy knowing where his grandmother lives and meeting the dog, horses, and billygoat she devotes her life to. Grandmothers don't live forever. We certainly know that about dogs! Take Care, Two-Guns.