LeafTalker Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) OMG, that's a beautiful picture, Sasfooty!!!!! Thanks for posting it. And for telling us about those experiences. You have a lot of discipline. The two comments that are resonating with me most from this discussion are your "I had time to think about it & decide to not be afraid," and MIB's "The middle path, being afraid without reacting, is where the potential for success lies." You both acknowledge the fear, but don't allow it to call the shots. Brilliant. P.S. But I do believe in the infrasound thing, and that's a different matter! I think we have less control in those situations, because we're being bombarded by an external force... Imonacan, I'm so sorry you went through that! But glad that the sensations started to go away when you headed back for camp. Edited January 7, 2014 by LeafTalker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgerm Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I get what youre saying george. The theory i read just stated that if you always run away or become easily intimidated you might NEVER see one, thats all. What you are saying is true an thanks for starting a relevant thread. Withstanding a bluff charge is the last thing I want to have happen while enjoying the woods, and we just don't know how we might react........PTSD comes to mind. Nice picture Sassyfoot, and we didn't believe there was any insinuation that BF makes fog. We have those who jump on a chance to ridicule. BF my make smelly gas, but not fog to disappear into! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Sure thing george. Been wanting to make the topic for a while. Long time lurker,just started posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgerm Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Welcome to the forum, find us a squatch, but becareful out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer102492 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I had a class B sighting this spring and live in a "flap" area where there have been many sightings. At first I freaked out and wouldn't go off my porch at night for a month and a half. That was not fun because I love hanging out at our bonfire pit or walking around here at night. We had a very big call back two weeks later which really turned me inside out. After that, I was I was scared to be on my own land. Then, after awhile, nothing else happened, so I thought it was a once in a lifetime thing and kind of was seeking it out. Summer moved along and then in August, someone we were camping with saw it very close to us watching our group. That sent me into a tailspin knowing that it was now in our back yard. Who knows, it could have always been there, but seriously? It was in our backyard and I was scared to go off the porch again. Then in the early fall, we had rocks thrown at our house on three different occasions, all of which happened after what I perceive to be some sort of habituation action on our parts. The first time the rock came with some howls, 17 hours after I called it on sort of a dare. The second time came when I "told it" "ha ha, I'm not sitting out tonight, you can't scare me." Then the third time came several hours after I was calling the cat at the top of my lungs hearing it bounce back through echos in our valley. After the rock throwing incidents with the cat flying off of my lap or our bed, reacting similarly to me, I went through a period for two weeks when I wanted to sell the house because the whole BF thing was messing up my good time hanging out late night with no fear. Then I "made peace with it" and I'm almost back to not being scared. But there are still times when a deer is walking near me when I can't see it that I jump thinking it could be BF. For 14 years, I had no fear of the dark or the wilderness here. I felt safe, enjoyed our privacy, laughed and danced in the moonlight. Now, it is different. I am still getting back to the care free part, but we'll see what this spring brings. I guess it's just a new normal that I have to get used to. I just left it that the word was "peace" and I won't mess with it, if it doesn't mess with me. There is a line from a Joni Mitchell song that I relate to now, that we're both "just busy being free." It was a hellavan adjustment though. I keep making steps forward. Getting good information from you all has been IMMENSELY helpful. Just the other night, when I heard something walking around near me, I actually got up out of my chair and looked around the corner for once, facing my fears that something may be looking back at me. There was nothing, so I didn't have to fester about it. But what happens if I do see it? I don't know. I have just spent 8 months mentally preparing myself for that possibility. Fear isn't always good, but the self preservation instinct is strong. Until I know what we are dealing with here, I don't think it's bad to be cautious. In the meantime, it is January 11th at 0311 and this is the first time that I have sat out for an extended period of time since the weather was warm. I just had to celebrate the warm spell at a balmy 45 degrees, (better than -16 that froze some of our pipes last week). I've been out here for about 5 hours now and heard lots of the usual animal sounds, listened to some good music and enjoyed the peaceful feeling of this beautiful place that we call home. The rain just started and it's time to go in and get some sleep. Thank you for starting a great thread! I appreciate it and thank you for listening to my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer102492 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Song playing now: Hell in a Bucket - Grateful Dead. Lyrics by John Barlow, Music by Bob Weir and Brent Midland I may be going to hell in a bucket But at least I'm enjoying the ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer102492 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hey Sasfooty, Thanks for sharing that story. Here's my take on it, not that I know anything, but my gut reaction kind of applies to lots of things where fear is involved.... How many times do we experience fear reactions by animals every day? Our skittish cat is a good example. She knows us but sometimes runs off when we approach. Lots of animals react to us with fear when we approach. You are just sensitive to it. We can send fear energy to them, they can send fear energy to us. Humans are the same way. When you see a bad dude walk into your bar, you just want to leave. Sometimes the dude just looks scary but he's really not, we just don't know him. It's a natural reaction in all of us. I think it just takes some time to get used to each other. Like the habituation thread talks about. Fear of the unknown works both ways. Sometimes God gave us a fear instinct for a good reason. Negative energy can be felt. What exactly is negative and what is just some sort of fear from lack of experience, takes awhile to discern sometimes. It's always good to have friends with you when the fear thing comes on because then you can figure out if it's just you, or if you both think that. Then again, when one person gets scared, the other one can too easily. My roommate in college always used to say, "You know when you know." So trust your gut. If it's a bad feeling after you eliminate all the other factors, get out. For me here, I think some of my fear is that I just don't know or understand these creatures yet. They may be feeling the same way about me. There's no way to know for sure, so it goes.... Thanks again for telling about your experience! I always pay attention to your posts. Song playing now... Bob Dylan Oh Mamma Can this really be the end? To be stuck inside of Mobile With the Memphis blues again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammer102492 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I think BF like to hide in the fog. It happened to us. It was standing right there hiding in the fog. Only one of our group saw it there. She tried to tell us but was somewhat paralyzed by fear not fully understanding what it was. The rest of us weren't looking in that direction, and it was hiding out in the fog. We didn't see it, but she did! We get some fierce fog here in the valley. Take this picture and make it night time with the full fog having rolled in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbyO Posted January 11, 2014 SSR Team Share Posted January 11, 2014 Standing up to intimidation behavior hasn't resulted in harm to any witness I'm aware of, nor has any other response for that matter. . None that have lived to tell the tale anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgerm Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 For 14 years, I had no fear of the dark or the wilderness here. I felt safe, enjoyed our privacy, laughed and danced in the moonlight. Now, it is different. I am still getting back to the care free part, but we'll see what this spring brings. I guess it's just a new normal that I have to get used to. I just left it that the word was "peace" and I won't mess with it, if it doesn't me............... You bring up a good point, in that all bigfoot habituation can have a down side. I agree, thinking a bigfoot is lurking in the yard would bother me too and overcoming this fear would be paramont. If it bugged me too much, I would have a fenced yard with a big dog, install motion senser ights, and I would target practice lots to scare it off. Shooting one would not be an option. I would also walk the land during the day looking for signs. Generally, where do you live? BobbyO, now you have us fearful again.......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasfooty Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 That was why I got to know them. If you're acquainted with who's "lurking in the yard" it doesn't seem so scary. It's more like they're just neighbors, coming to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDL Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Nineteen out of twenty days it's live and let live. On a bad day they are menacing according to the folks I know in Stone County, Missouri. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgerm Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 (edited) Sassyfoot, when you say them, I assume it's bigfoot coming to visit? It would take getting used to and trust built on both sides. Some people probably don't want to take chances with a missing child or pet due to some rogue bigfoot that comes along. That's the down side, and it takes a brave family to live with BFs around in my opinion. It would be rewarding if the relationship remains positive. JDL can you elaborate on how BFs are menacing? Edited January 11, 2014 by georgerm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasfooty Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 There were two rogues that came by here occasionally. They were the ones that sounded like a bull & a grizzly bear running along together. They tore down some fence a few times & apparently tried to molest one of the cows, but the friendly ones eventually ran them off. It's been about 5 years since they've been around. None of the others have ever hurt any of the animals, or caused any trouble. The cows & horses mostly ignore them now, although the cats & chickens stare off into the woods, like they can see something that I can't. Friends are always talking about the ones at their places moving things around & breaking things, but we've never experienced any of that. I know that some people have had really bad damage to their property that was attributed to the BFs, but we never have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDL Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Based on weekly conversations with my friends in Missouri: They are either present on a given day or not. They seem to migrate around Table Rock Lake. They'll stay on their property for a week, sometimes two at a time. My friends say that when they are present, the cats will spend most of the day inside (refuse to go out, retreat to the house) and will perch inside the house where they can stare at a specific spot downhill in the woods for hours. The spot is apparently an observation point from which the house is watched and my friends have seen them a couple of times at that spot. Just after dawn, when my friends walk their property, they will sometimes perceive that one of them is concealed prone just inside the wood line. At these times the cats will refuse to go near these areas. My friends perceive this as menacing behavior directed at their pets. The woman tells me that on occasion, when she is working in the garden alone, the squirrels, birds, and insects will go silent and she will feel menaced by something in the wood line. Her learned response to this is to face the wood line and state "I know you're there". Go away." It seems to work. When their adult son (a smoker) visits from out of state, they seem to be drawn in by the change in routine. At dusk, when he steps out to smoke, one at the observation post will whoop or make some other short call, there will be a response from further downslope, and a another will respond from another point in the wood line. On occasion one will use a more complicated call starting as a whoop transitioning mid-call to a sound like someone laughing, then finishing with a loud guttural growl just short of a roar. These multipoint communications most commonly occur when he is visiting and they perceive the normal calls as warnings and the whoop, laugh, growl as territorial. You have to keep in mind that they are each individuals with their own temperaments. Also individuals can have good and bad days. Sasfooty posted while I was composing mine. Note the similar cat behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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