The Growling, Hissing Marsh Monster!

Sometimes things can be a bit eerie down on the pier in the late evening.  Then, again, sometimes things are not what they seem.  When the sun is setting and the night critters are starting to stir about, what normally would be a cute, furry friend could be misidentified as something downright creepy!  Take this evening for instance.  Ms. Ez, the dog, and I were fully enjoying our trek to the pier to watch the sunset.  We did not stay long as there was heavy cloud cover and the sun seemed to have disappeared well before nightfall.  On the way back up the pier to the Little Bayou House, she and I stopped dead in our tracks!  Something was hissing at us!  Then.....growl!  A low gurgling grunt of a growl but still a growl!  What was between us and the shore?  Ms. Ez tensed!  The hair on her back bristled!  Yep...must have been something unseen in the marsh!  I peered into the reeds.  I saw nothing.  Perhaps it was my imagination?   My hand reached for the comfort of Ms. Ez.  She was there but nervous.  I started toward the end of the pier again.   Hisss....grunt....grunt...grunt!  Ok...maybe I should wait a minute!  It sure was getting dark....FAST!   Ms. Ez returned the growl this time.  She moved in front of me.  Her head was held low and the muscles in her body were rippling.  I had never seen her in this stance!  Alrighty now...this was getting a tad curious!  Not knowing what was growling and hissing at me, I decided to sit down and wait it out.  The pier is high enough that not too many critters can get up on it from the mire below unless one has wings!  So...I sat and waited..camera in hand!   Hiss...grunt...grunt...grunt!  The noise did sound familiar but my brain was just not wanting to recognize it.  Ms. Ez again returned the growl and looked as if she wanted to jump into the marsh and attack whatever was there.  I held onto her collar not wanting her to leave.  I quietened her.  She did not make another sound but held her stance.  We waited...and waited.  I wanted to see just what was angry about my presence.  After a few minutes, a weird crunching sound came from the spot where the hissing started.  My critter was eating!  Perhaps that is why it felt threatened! Maybe it thought I wanted its supper!  Then...a few squeaks?   Crunch, crunch, squeak, squeak.  What a strange critter!

Mama Otter glaring at me with her eyes glowing red with the camera flash!

After about ten minutes or so, I heard a rustling in the grasses.  Whatever was there was now on the move!  The reeds bent this way and that.  Ms. Ez was beside herself with curiosity..as was I!  We watched the movement and listened to more grunts and squeaks.  Then Ez leapt to her feet....her fur bristled again!  Growl!  She let out a loud growl and the critter answered with a hiss!   Much rummaging in the marsh let me know that the critter really was not happy!  Then about twenty feet from us, a head popped up through the thatching..then another and another and another!  Grunt! Grunt!  The three smaller heads disappeared under the marsh again! I snapped a picture and noticed that the flash from the camera made the eyes of my beast glow red!  OOOOH!  Hehe...my family of beasts had taken cover...afraid of me!  All that was left visible was Mama Otter!!!!  Wow!  Mama Otter evidently did not want Ms. Ez nor me to get too close to her pups!  She grunted again and again.  Then grabbing a half-eaten fish, she led her pups a bit further away.  They hid under another thatching and started eating their supper again.  Munch, munch...crunch..crunch!  I giggled!  My growling, hissing monster was Mama Otter!  Ms. Ez looked at me questioningly!  "Should I chase them?"  No, Ms. Ez, you did well...they are gone.  I patted her head and we, once again, started our trek back up the hill.  The lights in the Little Bayou House beamed brightly..welcoming us back up the hill and away from all of the monsters of the marsh!