Gggrrrooowww

Do you remember the sound the panther made just before he pounced on Dan and Ann in "Where the Red Fern Grows"? That is the noise I heard last night!

We (Abi, Gracie, Zeb, Zach, Lydia, and I) went to the "swamp" last night on the river where we had the feeder-buckets. Uno however went deep and had an armadillo in a hole. To get to her I shined the truck lights in the wood and left instructions for the kids to blow the horn every five minutes. I hoped that I would be able to see the lights and hear the horn as I returned. I did get to Uno, saw the armadillo, disciplined her and started back. Then and there, I heard the eerie sound of a panther, gggrrrooowww. I've been in the woods a lot in my life, but that was the first panther I've heard. So I hurried along to the truck as you might imagine.

On the way home the kids mentioned an Indian ritual for a boy to reach manhood. The boy has to stay in the woods all night without making a sound, and he has to remain blindfolded. At that point Zach assured us that he was not afraid of a panther and would stay the night at the "swamp." He begged us to turn around. However, we didn't believe that he was expressing his true feelings. I think he knew I would never leave him so he was talking big. We also took a vote, five to zero, that Zach would not really stay the night. I know I wouldn't!