False alarms

[corrupt]

I just moved to this new area, new house, etc. It's out in the hills on an acre of land. It's quite different from living in the San Francisco bay area. Anyway:

Heard noises outside all evening. Finally realized it was close, right out front. Went outside with lead and a light. The light bulb inside the old noggen went on and I realized I had the garage door opener loose in my pocket with my keys....

What really exacerbated it is that I put all the lights on out front, and they're rigged to dim intermittently if they sense motion. Right after I put them all on, one of them started going off. I guess it was a coincidence and probably just some critter, along with the garage door going up and down and up and....

Have any stories about things that put you on high alert, only to find out it's something silly?

[alex00]

That reminds me of when my wife and I moved into the country. A few months after moving in she had me install a cat door in the garage for her cats. A raccoon decided to break into the food container. I'm inside and hear things banging and crashing in the garage. Ran out to the garage ready to confront the burglar trying to break in only to find the damn raccoon. I still hate those raccoons. And yes I felt a little silly.

[BIGCHRIS]

where I live we have alot of deer,and coyotes. The wife is always waking me up to check and see why the light is on outside or what a noise was that she heard.You will get use to it.

[XYZ]

I really don't have a story to share about false alarms but I think the first one may leave you feeling shaken up, the second one may leave you feeling silly and the third one would be almost annoying.

My point though is like the boy that cried wolf, the one time an alarm did sound and you had "gotten used to it" is the one time something may actually occurr. I guess it's easy for me to say living in the suburbs and eventually after awhile living in the country my view would change but I hope we always remain alert and vigilant. That's why I have the Glock at the ready at night.

[a1c]

Pretty much any night, if I go out after dark, I'll hear some animals out there. I've got wild pigs in the orchard on a regular basis (need to track them down during daytime with the Enfield, I got a wild pig tag I need to use before June), deer in the woods, gophers eating up some of my flower bulbs, coyotes roaming around, neighborhood cats on the prowl, bats all over, night birds in hunting mode, possums, and I know there are mountain lions although I haven't seen them yet.

I grew up in the country so it doesn't really bother me, and whenever I see pigs at night I wish I could legally shoot them (maybe I should apply for a depredation permit). You're a gun owner so I suppose you have enough firepower to get rid of whatever varmint come and bother you.

Once in a while I'll hear noises outside at night and won't be able to figure out exactly what it is, but that comes with the territory when you live in the country. Last time I got up in the middle of the night with a pistol in hand, it turned out to be the cats playing with a door.

False alarms will get scarcer as you learn more about the wildlife in your area. The good thing is, unless you're keeping a chicken coop, you won't need to shoot anything out there.