I am not a wuss…just a little bit of a chicken.

It is funny how we let our imaginations get the best of us.

My water pressure gauge was oddly fluctuating last evening; I thought it might be due to a leak, so I headed for the crawl space to check. I have not been brave enough to venture underneath the house since my Dad saw a snake in there last fall. I am not particularly afraid of snakes or confined spaces, but the combination of them is daunting.

I cautiously poked my head in and scanned for the snake with my flashlight. It was getting dark, my light was on the dim side of being charged, and phobia was starting to set in. I reproached myself for my cowardice, gave myself a pep talk, and started forward just as I heard my pooch whimpering/growling from behind. I turned to see that she was sniffing the air, her hair was standing on end, and she was shaking.

She is a large dog (rot, chow, possibly wolf mix) and has proven to be fierce and very protective of me when needed, so I am thinking whatever it is, must be pretty darn big. The rational assumption would have been a bear or bobcat, but my imagination went for something much bigger. Last summer, one of my neighbors mentioned that there have been several sightings of a “big foot” like creature on the mountain where I live. Knowing old men like to tell tall tales, I took no mind, but it was almost dark now and I was already unnerved from the prospect of the snake. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end too.

Side by side, legs shaking, we slowly moved around the corner of the house. There was nothing in sight and nothing rustling in the woods. I breathed a sigh of relief, but pooch was still aroused. I was obviously not in a good state of mind to try for the crawl space again, so I decided to drive down to the water meter and check to see if the gauge was moving on it.

The water meter is in the woods about 100 feet from the road. My flashlight was losing light fast, so I shined the cars headlights in the direction of the meter. I left pooch in the car and walked to the meter. As I bent down to remove the lid, something moved a few feet away from me. I tried to see what it was, but couldn’t see past the beams of the car light. I told myself it was nothing and bent down again.

There wasn’t enough light left in the flashlight to read the meter so I turned and started walking back to the car. I could hear the critter following me, so I quickened my step. My imagination was in full gear now, and the huge, hirsute beast was keeping pace with me. Fear consumed me and I ran to the car and drove off as fast as I could. When we were safe in the house, I shook off the fear, went to bed, and was grateful to my pooch for being on guard so I could rest easy.

This morning I awoke to see deer and bunnies grazing and playing in my front yard (Joy!). My fear of the snake and the unknown critter (probably just a small, not so hairy armadillo) seems silly now on this bright, beautiful day. I inspected the pipes and the water meter with no sign of the snakes, monsters, or leaks. Whew! Rationality has returned with the sun and life is good!

Btw…Patti (The New Sixty) posted a fun blog on the 7th about her shark phobia that makes for a good chuckle (as her posts usually do).