Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Things That Bump in the Night!

~Josh~
I don't make a secret out of not liking to be at home alone by myself at night.  While I actually do feel pretty safe with all the dogs here, the problem is that when I go to bed and everyone is finally settled down, my mind sometimes starts to wander and I hear noises and every creek and rattle.  So, you may be able to imagine the thoughts that were going through my mind the other night when there were high winds, thunder and lightening and I kept hearing this tapping noise that sounded like it was right outside my window.  Each time it happened, the dogs would either growl or start barking.  Add to that a couple of  phone calls from an 'unknown caller' that left no message and hung up--Needless to say, my wild imagination and my OCD trying to figure out what it was took off!  I really did try to think rationally that 'maybe' a piece of siding had come loose from the house.  So, I gathered some courage, turned on all the outside lights, grabbed a flashlight and the dogs and I went out onto the front porch to take a look--In the darkness I saw nothing--But more noises from the woods made us quickly go back inside.  Eventually I fell asleep, waking up a few times to that same tapping noise that would cause a growl from one or more of the dogs.  

It's true what the say.  Things always look better in the morning.  When it got light, I went outside to take a look and this was what I found...  
A stone wind chime that I had taken down a few days ago and put over the porch railing.  The wind must've caused it to occasionally hit the side of the house.  I'd overlooked it in the darkness.  Needless to say, I had to laugh at myself for once again letting my totally irrational fear and thoughts get the best of me!  
We're so brave here at Golden Pines, aren't we? 
~Hamlet~

28 comments:

  1. That would make me scared, too. Especially after the hang-up phone calls! Good thing you have such a big pack!!

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  2. It certainly happens to the best of us! I've been known to get up and flip on all the outside lights as I make my way through the house.

    My policy over the years is that if the boys bark, don't worry too much. If Gwen barks, then there's something to be concerned about!! However with her advanced age, I'm not sure how well that's working out for me lately.... ;)

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  3. LOL! I too would have been terrified! xxx

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  4. Sounds like a scary thing to me! Sometimes Goldens can be babies too ;D

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  5. OH I can imagine how scary that night was for you especially when you're living right next to the woods & receiving weird calls! Thank goodness it was just the wind chime that was knocking against the wooden wall.

    Sometimes, we hear tapping or knocking sounds on the top of our asbestos roof. I use to think there was some ghost up there but then we debunked it to be the water tank leakage & sometimes when it rains cats & dogs, the rain water would leak through the top of the roof & land on the asbestos, making the tapping sounds.

    OH & we too receive weird calls sometimes. Some loon would call us & then quickly hang up. The other day I received a call from Thailand from a weird unknown number. The person on the other side of the line was a woman & speaking Thai. Freaky stuff!! I immediately hung up. LOL

    Hoomie Melissa

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  6. Oh Kim...
    I love the way you write! You write so honestly - something I try to do myself. I always think that if you share something of yourself, you serve to enrich others. Thank
    Hopefully it will reassure you to know that some/many of us feel these same things. So, next time, when you are wide awake, think of your blogger-friend who are also listening for things that go bump in the night. :)
    Hamlet is still as beautiful as ever!
    Sending lotsaluv
    MAXMOM IN SOUTH AFRICA

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  7. Sorry we've been MIA. We're just starting to catch up. Yay! for the Chubb brothers staying! Sorry to see Hamlet's other tumor; hope it's just a fatty tumor and never bothers him.

    Don't blame you for getting spooked at the noise, especially with the dogs barking. Glad it was so easily solved - and that you apparently got at least some sleep!

    Jed & Abby

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  8. Oh, Kim -- if I didn't have my two kids here with me (Buck and Sioux), I doubt I would make it through the nights when my hubby is working out of town. I totally understand!

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  9. There is something about darkness that can play with your mind. You should be able to hit a button on your phone to see who called you...at least get a #.

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  10. OK, no more slasher movies and pie before you go to bed.
    Hmmm, cherry pie
    Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

    I second the admiration for your honest posts about you being silly.

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  11. The calls would freak me out too! A gun at reach would heal my fears, for sure.
    xoxo

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  12. ohhhhhh! i'm sorry you felt so scared.try to remember that you're not really alone. as sweet and loving as you furry friends may be, i doubt that any intruder would risk entering a home that was so filled with protectors.

    thank you for the visits and the encouraging words you've left on my blog. healing is going much slower than i would like and just 'normal' daily living can be quite overwhelming at times. i'm just doing the best i can do...

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  13. Oh Kim this reminds me of a story that my mom shared with me.....
    My mom grew up on the South Side of Pittsburgh and was definetly a city girl. When my parents were married they moved to the suburbs--which seemed like miles and miles from the city to my mom. One night she was laying in bed when she saw a tiny light shining through her window. It kept turning off and on. She just knew someone was shining a flashlight in the window. Finally her fear got the best of her and she woke my dad. She sent him outside to catch the "prowler" No prowler to be found..... After my dad's return to bed---lights off once again--there was the "flashlight" again. My dad went to the window to investigate only to find a firefly blinking on the window screen. It sure is amazing how our mind play tricks on us in the dark of the night :)
    Hope you have a great day---enjoy the daylight :)
    xoxo
    Mimi

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  14. oh, i have totally been there! when the dogs bark and pitch a fit, it makes me more unnerved than if they just ignore the sound... :)

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  15. That's why I'm a city girl. I need two houses actually. One out in the country during the day and one in the city at night. LOL

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  16. oh my friends, if I who were in your place, I would have hid under the bed ... haha:)
    see you soon, take care.

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  17. oh my friends, if I who were in your place, I would have hid under the bed ... haha:)
    see you soon, take care.

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  18. It is amazing what the mind will do to us during times like that. I'm afraid you would not make it here at Menagerie Manor, the first time that Lucy slammed a door just as you attempt to walk through it or moves an object from one room to another you and the dogs would be a fast moving dust cloud.

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  19. I think you're very brave to just have taken a flashlight and venture outside to take a look! Not sure I would have done so! Good job, doggehs, on the growling and barking - atta way to go!!! Great picture of Hamlet on guard duty! (When we get big windy storms here, the tree branches hit one of our windows and makes a weird noise that the dogs always bark/growl at!)
    xoxoxo
    Sammie, Avalon and Ozzie

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  20. I need to give you my number so you can call me the next time you're scared....you do know we're safer living out in the country than some big city? :)
    xoxo

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  21. Imagaination is sometimes the scariest thing! I'm like you - when I am alone at night every noise becomes something to think about. I hope you slept better the next night - with the wind chime out of action.

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  22. Our first Portie, Bentley, used to sleep across the foot of the bed. One night around 2 AM he howled. Rob and I both jumped out of bed with our hears pounding. Bentley was still asleep. He was dreaming and howled in his sleep. Try getting back to sleep after that. he did that about four times during his life and we reacted the same way each time.

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  23. This would be me, especially if the dogs start barking. Then I get paranoid.

    Eventually I would brave up and peek around to see if I could figure out what's going on.

    There are times I get antsy walking back to the coop if it's dark. Not so much for people as for wild critters. I was growled at by a bobcat once. It scared the dickens out of me!

    I'm such a wuss....

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  24. I bet the dogs thought you were being so brave, Kim! Little did they know......

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  25. Hi Kim.
    Sometimes I hear noises,,, but why is it that I always have an excuse for what the sound is? Well that is,,,, if I am not alone...
    But if I am alone,,,, there is not much sleep going on,, with all the bumpy sounds..
    I know how unsettling it is to not know..
    But ,,,, one little doggy here will never let anyone into this house,,, so no worries
    love
    tweedles

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  26. Oh, Kim, I loved this post! I can so feel for you right now since I'm in full worrying mode with my Sweetheart away! I haven't heard from him yet today, so I'm working on keeping myself calm.

    I also used to be the same as you when I was alone in one of our houses at night, especially the house I lived in with my parents and brother before my parents split up. It was quite large and when I was by myself in there at night, I was always afraid that someone might creep in from the back and I wouldn't be able to hear them from my room in the front! I fell much safer now in an apartment building where anyone wanting to get to me has to call me first so I can buzz them in!

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  27. You probably don't want to read this story... but I'll tell it anyway. We heard bumps and thumps outside one night, and our three dogs (at the time) went berzerk. We finally turned on all the outside lights and peered out the windows to discover a guy out there. We opened an upstairs window and asked if we could help him. He then made up a story about being carjacked, being hurt, and needing to come in our house. Needless to say, "no way"! We offered to call 911 for him, and the cops could help him (we were still in the locked house). As my husband dialed 911, the guy took off. When three units of police arrived in absolute record time for where we live, we found footprints all around the perimeter of our house, as if the guy had been checking all the doors and windows to try to get in. They sent out an APB but he was never found.

    Needless to say, I take those thumps from outside the house far more seriously now than before. We live fairly remotely so it was odd the guy ended up at *our* house. But, perhaps the remoteness was the attraction. And, why did he keep trying even with the sound of 3 full-grown labs barking, snarling and growling? I still don't get it.

    In your case, I'd think that your humongous pack of dogs would keep any bad person at bay!

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  28. Better safe than sorry. I pay very close attention to the cats on my bed at night, when I hear a strange noise. If they don't pay any attention, I don't worry. But, boy do I perk up if I see those little heads come up and all look in the same direction.

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