Even while I was learning to garden, can food and about edible plants and flowers, I was working a full time job. We also spent a good amount of time out at the farm since we one day hoped to build and live there. Life was pretty busy.
While at the farm, I developed a joy in fishing. There were two ponds where we could go after work and spend an hour or two catching fish. We couldn't stay much longer because we had to go to work in the morning but we did manage to spend a good amount of time fishing in the evenings. I was pretty new to fishing in the beginning but eventually I became very good at catching fish. I had my own poles, tackle and I learned the little things that make a better fisherman. I wasn't squeamish about using live bait or cleaning my own fish. It was just something that came with fishing.
One Friday night we decided that we wanted to go cat fishing which is usually best done at night. Rather then staying late and then riding all the way home we decided to camp down at the pond. We took sleeping bags and the truck and all our fishing supplies. We gathered rocks and built a fire ring on the dam. When it got late and the poles were put up for the night we lit a fire in the ring and pulled up a couple of chairs ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.
The dam where we were camping is just below the campground in the field. There was a small line of trees separating the open field from the pond and the terrain was all down hill. Back there in the woods it was impossible to see a house or a light since there were no close neighbors at that time. Even Tom's parents house wasn't visible from that side of the farm. If we had called for help nobody would have heard us. After a while, we stopped talking and everything got quiet. Well, it got about as quiet as nature usually gets. There was still the sound of the crickets and frogs. There was the quiet ripple of the pond and the crackle of the fire.
If you've ever sat around a campfire you know that the darkness seems to close about you. The light from the fire only reaches so far and then it feels like utter darkness beyond. You just can't see what is past the edge of the fires light. While we sat there we heard the coyotes howl and they sounded close. It felt like we were being watched. Then the frogs and the crickets went silent and then the field above came to life.
I knew that the people of the campground were there sitting around their own campfires. I also knew that they knew we were there. I felt their eyes looking down the hill at us on the pond. It was strange and creepy but this time it wasn't just me. My tough redneck husband was getting spooked. He sensed something strange and got a little nervous. I told him it felt spooky down there and he agreed. We tried to tough it out but it just got spookier and spookier down there. Finally, we both agreed that we wanted to go up to his parents house and spend the rest of the night there. We hurriedly put out the campfire and packed up the truck. We piled in and headed up the hill.
When we got to the edge of the field I saw them. There were little specks of light from candles and torches. There were campfires and bedrolls. There were people sitting around and there were people in their tents. It was like all their eyes were glued to us as we drove right through their camp. I felt surrounded and trapped. I had a fear that they wouldn't let us leave. They seemed almost desperate and grasping. I don't think Tom saw what I saw because he didn't say anything. I didn't ask. I just rode silently as he drove through the field. He was visibly nervous though and I could see his tight grip on the steering wheel and the tenseness in his driving. I had never known him to react that way to anything.
As we headed up the hill and began to leave the lights and the sunken eyes behind us I could feel Tom relaxing and it seemed that his whole being exhaled. I also felt myself relaxing as if I too had been tense and holding my breath.
A few minutes later we knocked on his parents door and his dad let us in. We slept in his old bedroom that night. At least, Tom slept. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop shivering. I lay in the dark seeing those lights from the campfires and the people watching us leave over and over and over. I couldn't get those haunted faces out of my mind and something about those flickering lights was disturbing. It was a long time before the sun rose the next morning.
While at the farm, I developed a joy in fishing. There were two ponds where we could go after work and spend an hour or two catching fish. We couldn't stay much longer because we had to go to work in the morning but we did manage to spend a good amount of time fishing in the evenings. I was pretty new to fishing in the beginning but eventually I became very good at catching fish. I had my own poles, tackle and I learned the little things that make a better fisherman. I wasn't squeamish about using live bait or cleaning my own fish. It was just something that came with fishing.
One Friday night we decided that we wanted to go cat fishing which is usually best done at night. Rather then staying late and then riding all the way home we decided to camp down at the pond. We took sleeping bags and the truck and all our fishing supplies. We gathered rocks and built a fire ring on the dam. When it got late and the poles were put up for the night we lit a fire in the ring and pulled up a couple of chairs ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.
The dam where we were camping is just below the campground in the field. There was a small line of trees separating the open field from the pond and the terrain was all down hill. Back there in the woods it was impossible to see a house or a light since there were no close neighbors at that time. Even Tom's parents house wasn't visible from that side of the farm. If we had called for help nobody would have heard us. After a while, we stopped talking and everything got quiet. Well, it got about as quiet as nature usually gets. There was still the sound of the crickets and frogs. There was the quiet ripple of the pond and the crackle of the fire.
If you've ever sat around a campfire you know that the darkness seems to close about you. The light from the fire only reaches so far and then it feels like utter darkness beyond. You just can't see what is past the edge of the fires light. While we sat there we heard the coyotes howl and they sounded close. It felt like we were being watched. Then the frogs and the crickets went silent and then the field above came to life.
I knew that the people of the campground were there sitting around their own campfires. I also knew that they knew we were there. I felt their eyes looking down the hill at us on the pond. It was strange and creepy but this time it wasn't just me. My tough redneck husband was getting spooked. He sensed something strange and got a little nervous. I told him it felt spooky down there and he agreed. We tried to tough it out but it just got spookier and spookier down there. Finally, we both agreed that we wanted to go up to his parents house and spend the rest of the night there. We hurriedly put out the campfire and packed up the truck. We piled in and headed up the hill.
When we got to the edge of the field I saw them. There were little specks of light from candles and torches. There were campfires and bedrolls. There were people sitting around and there were people in their tents. It was like all their eyes were glued to us as we drove right through their camp. I felt surrounded and trapped. I had a fear that they wouldn't let us leave. They seemed almost desperate and grasping. I don't think Tom saw what I saw because he didn't say anything. I didn't ask. I just rode silently as he drove through the field. He was visibly nervous though and I could see his tight grip on the steering wheel and the tenseness in his driving. I had never known him to react that way to anything.
As we headed up the hill and began to leave the lights and the sunken eyes behind us I could feel Tom relaxing and it seemed that his whole being exhaled. I also felt myself relaxing as if I too had been tense and holding my breath.
A few minutes later we knocked on his parents door and his dad let us in. We slept in his old bedroom that night. At least, Tom slept. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop shivering. I lay in the dark seeing those lights from the campfires and the people watching us leave over and over and over. I couldn't get those haunted faces out of my mind and something about those flickering lights was disturbing. It was a long time before the sun rose the next morning.