A walk in the dark

Once again, Kuma d.o.g. insisted we go to the cabin, this time well after dark. One never knows when we'll be at the cabin in the woods; darkness is no deterrent. With no moon or light to illuminate our path, we slowly navigated our way along the ruts in the road and around the pond. When the sun goes down on the farm, the hollow fills with a fog that creeps out of the pond, cattails and wetland. Even in the midst of summer, a sweater feels pretty good when in the coolness of the hollow at night. As we dropped down around the bend on the backside of the pond, 2 large deer sharing a drink were startled by our presence. It was too dark to tell if they were bucks but they were large and heavy as they ran up the pasture into the state forest. They sounded like horses more than deer as they dug in their hooves to escape danger. All that could be  made out was their long white tails as they faded in the distance. Kuma was so startled she didn't bark until they were far in the distance. It was such a surprise to her that she kept turning around as we proceeded to the cabin watching and confirming they were gone.

On the porch, I settled into the glider and relaxed to enjoy the peace of the night. It was so dark, you could barely make out the tree line on the distant horizon. Kuma stretched out beside me and was a willing participant in a short nap that was abruptly interrupted by the sounds of something, most likely deer, stomping through the darkness of the woods below. Kuma was too scared of the unknown to bark as she could tell that whatever was out there was large.

After an hour of hearing nothing but frogs and crickets, we arose and headed back. Kuma was now visibly uncomfortable with walking in the darkness as she stayed close at my side matching me step by step and stop by stop. I wondered what would happen if we flushed out a coyote; what would she do, how would I react? On this walk, I didn't have my 38 so there would be no quick answer to an attack. I wondered if she was attacked if I would be willing to intervene to save her life as she could never defeat a coyote. I was thankful we returned to the car without having to find out. Kuma discovered she is still a city dog and has much to learn about going to ManCamp in the dark.