The Sas-squawk and the Snake Charmer

The Hollis Nature Preserve was south of the small town of Sleepyside.  It was bequeathed to Westchester County by a wealthy woman who deeply resented the intrusion of residential

developments consisting of big, boxy houses, treeless streets and barren yards. When the woman died, her will revealed the donation of the acreage, ensuring that there was an area that would support native plants and animals. That nature preserve, with its peaceful, winding hiking trails, was a favorite among the citizens of Sleepyside, no matter the season.  Tad and Trixie particularly favored it because it gave them an escape from their hectic lives. On a late spring afternoon,  the two tramped along a narrow path that was, at times, nothing more than a deer trail that was partially concealed by the wild undergrowth of the nature preserve. As they walked, they chatted and argued good naturedly.  For a few moments, the chatter on Trixie’s end ceased.

“Why so quiet all of a sudden?” asked Tad over his shoulder.

Trixie shrugged.  “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“About this book I read where the girl, named Lucy, was hiking through some woods, probably a lot like these, and she saw a Sasquatch.”

Tad burst out laughing.  “A Sasquatch?”

Trixie glared at her husband.  “Yeah.  And what’s so funny about a Sasquatch?”

Tad stopped and turned. “First of all, there’is no proof of their existence and secondly, whenever people claim to have seen one, they always overreact and get all hyped up.”

“Don’t you think you’d get a bit excited if you saw one?” Trixie gave her husband a dubious look.

Tad waved his hand through the air and started to walk again.  “No.  I’d just go up to it, hold out my hand and introduce myself.”  He tossed a quick grin back at Trixie.

“Yeah, right.” Trixie answered Tad’s grin with one of her own.

“I would,” protested Tad as he continued to lead the way down the narrow path.

“If you say so. But I think I know you better than you know yourself.”

The sun was dipping lower in the sky and the old trees and tangled shrubs cast long shadows along the winding  path. The constant rustling and crackling of the nearby brush kept Trixie and Tad on their toes as they made their way toward the parking lot.

“Hiking with a purpose! That’s why I like geocaching,” Trixie chirped, after a few more minutes of silence.  “Plus, every time I find a geocache, it’s like solving a little mystery. And, in case you didn’t know it, I was really happy to find that last geocache.”

“You found it?” Tad stopped and turned to face his wife, his eyebrow raised in question.  “As I recall, you couldn’t find it and begged for my help.  And then, I managed to find the little bug drilled into a tree.”

Trixie gave Tad a shove.  “Keep going.  But I’m going to say again, the cache hider should not have drilled a hole into a tree.  That’s not good for trees.  And that’s why I wasn’t even looking along the trunk.  I was sure it was hanging among the branches.”

Tad stopped again, causing Trixie to run into him.  “ And what, with your stellar height, would you have done if it had been hanging among the branches?  Again, I would have had to be the one to snag it.”

“Nope.” Trixie picked a burr off her jeans. “I would have climbed the tree and gotten it all by myself.”

“Then why am I here?” demanded Tad. “Or is it my job to sit back and point out potential hiding places as well as potential pitfalls that send you shrieking through the preserve?”

“Pitfalls? Shrieking?” Trixie stared at Tad, recalling how she had physically and verbally recoiled after a black rat snake dropped down into the hollow of a tree where she had just had been feeling around for a cache. “Are you calling a 10 foot long snake a pitfall? Because if so, then you should have warned me about that hollow tree?  I can’t believe I stuck my hand up into it  and searched through all its crevices.” She closed her eyes and gave an involuntary shudder.  “How was I supposed to know there was a big, black, 15 foot rat snake inside?”  

Tad shrugged. “First of all, the snake was only about five feet long.  And second, I couldn’t have pointed that snake out to you even if I had wanted to.  You just decided the geocache was in that tree and off you went.” Tad paused as a huge grin spread across his face.  “But seriously, when you stepped away and saw that snake drop down, your scream really echoed through the preserve. I’m surprised no police showed up.  You sounded like you were being murdered.” Tad patted his wife’s shoulder.  “But don’t worry, Snake Charmer.  We all overreact when we’re scared, just like those Sasquatch hunters. But seriously, I wish there’d been a camera crew here to film the whole snaky episode.”

“I was not scared.” Trixie shook her hair out of her face in  a defiant move.   “More like…more like.. Oh, I don’t know so just keep walking, Webster.  The sun’s getting lower and I’m hungry.  I say we stop at Wimpy’s on the way home.”

”Sounds like a plan to me,” said Tad as he turned and continued his trek along the path.

Due to the setting sun and the growing shadows, the path was becoming harder to see.  Trixie pulled out her phone and switched on the flashlight app, but that provided little assistance.  

“Gleeps!” she exclaimed.  “This flashlight app is about as useful as Mapquest, which led me straight into a farmer’s field last week.”

Tad glanced over his shoulder.  “Is that why your car was so muddy?  Didn’t you even realize you were driving through farmland?”

Trixie rolled her eyes.  “I figured that out before I actually drove into the field but the road leading to it was full of muddy puddles.” She shrugged.  “I thought that the route did seem kind of weird. C’mon, let’s step on it.  I can almost smell the onion rings.”

The two picked up speed as they hiked toward the parking lot.  Suddenly, Tad stopped and, for a second time, Trixie ran into him.

“Now what?” she demanded.  

Tad held his index finger to his lip.  “Shhhhh. I think I see something.”

“See something like what?” asked Trixie, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“I’m not sure.  But as we came around the curve, I thought I saw a shadow up ahead in the trees.”

“What kind of shadow?”

Tad squinted through the darkening flora.  “Not sure.  It might have been a man.”

“So just another hiker trying to get out before it gets dark.  I get where he’s coming from.  C’mon.” She pushed past Tad and started down the path.  But Tad grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“I’m telling you we are not alone out here.  And honestly, Trixie, whatever or whoever I saw was really tall.  Like really tall.” Tad raised his hand above his head, then raised it another foot higher.

Trixie peered through the trees then back to Tad.  “Ha! Ha!  Very funny.  You got me with the snake but you won’t get me with this…this…boogeyman, or whatever you are choosing to call whatever you saw, if you actually saw something.  Now let’s go.  Hot onion rings and a burger are definitely calling my name.”

Trixie took a few steps, but Tad pulled her back and stepped in front of her.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll lead.”

Trixie rolled her eyes.  “So, that’s how it’s going to be?  You think you see something and now you’re going all protective on me?  I don’t recall such chivalry when it snowed back in February and my car was covered.  Did you go out at 6 am and clean it off before I went to work?  No.”

Tad shook his head.  “I mean it, Trixie.  There is a huge man up there.  And, and…”

“And what?” demanded Trixie, slapping her hands on her hips.

Tad paused and looked at the ground before returning Trixie’s gaze. “I think it looks like Sasquatch.”

Trixie pursed her lips together then broke into a laugh.  “Sasquatch.  That’s a good one, Webster.”

“I’m serious, Trixie.  I think we may have stumbled upon a real Sasquatch.  And as I think about it, that is exactly what whatever I saw looked like.”

Trixie crossed her arms over her chest and gave Tad a hard stare.  “Sasquatch?  Right.  LIke I would believe that. No, you just want to watch me scream again and I refuse to do that. Now come on, I’m starving.”

“Okay,” said Tad, his voice low and deep, matching the growing shadows.  “But let me go first.”

Trixie shrugged.  “Fine  Go first, as long as we get going. But if you’re going to scream, give me a heads-up so I can record it.”

Tad scowled.  “Yeah, like I would scream.”

Tad, his eyes focused on the grove of trees ahead of him, started walking. “But,” he whispered over his shoulder,  “Whatever I saw did look like a Sasquatch.”

He took Trixie’s hand and the two of them crept along the path, their heads flipping back and forth as they searched the area.

“Oh! Oh!,” yelled Tad as he grabbed Trixie.  “There he is.  Look!”

Trixie peered around Tad and scanned the area.  But before she could get a good look, Tad pulled her down.  

“Tad.  I didn’t get a chance to see anything.” Trixie tried to stand up but Tad kept a firm grip on her.

“Shh,” he whispered urgently. “We need to be quiet and not let him know we’re here.”

“Tad,” Trixie wobbled a bit as she squatted down. “Why would there be a Sasquatch in this preserve?  Are they even suspected of being around here?”

Tad shrugged.  “I’ve never heard of any sightings, but then again, there is a lot I’ve never heard of. Plus, I don't keep in close contact with any Sasquatch club.”

“So, what is your plan? Is your handshake ready?”  Trixie tried to look over Tad’s shoulder but her efforts were unsuccessful. “Tad, if there is a Sasquatch nearby and I want to emphasize the word ‘if’, then this is our chance to get some really good pictures of it and not a bunch of grainy ones.”

Tad stared at her.  “If? Trixie, I’m serious.  I know what I saw and I saw Sasquatch.  Up ahead.  Just off the path.  He was back in the trees.”

“Okay.  Suppose you’re right.  What do you suggest we do? Wait for him to go to his home or should we dial 911 now?”

“You don’t believe me,” Tad ran his hands through his hair. “I can’t believe you don’t believe me.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Trixie said slowly.  “It’s just that I find your story hard to swallow.”

“That’s the same thing as not believing me.” Tad looked above Trixie’s head at the darkening path ahead of them. “We need to get to the parking lot.”

Trixie shifted in the long grass.  “No.  We need to get a few good pictures then we can get to the parking lot. Any suggestions?”

Tad raised himself up slightly and looked down the path on which they had just traveled.  “I saw a bunch of downed trees a little ways back. I’m going to see if there is anything I can use as a weapon.”

“A weapon?” Trixie rolled her eyes and gave a quick shake of her curls. “All you need is a camera.  Everybody knows that Sasquatches run away from cameras.”

Tad looked disappointed.  ”You still don’t believe me,” he said flatly.

“Let’s just say I need proof.”

“Since when?” questioned Tad.  “As long as I can remember, you have rushed into situations without any…”

Trixie closed his lips with her fingers.  “I don’t think we have the time to rehash my youthful adventures.  Right now, we need to get past your Sasquatch so we can get out of here and get to Wimpy’s.”

Tad gave a brisk nod.  “Right.   Now, you stay here, be quiet  and I’ll be right back.”

Tad duck walked a bit back down the path then stood up and ran, disappearing around a curve.  Trixie, still balancing on her heels, shifted in the brush. Suddenly, she stood up.

“At least I can try to get a better look while I’m waiting.”

Slowly and stealthily, she crept along the path until she came to a copse of trees.  As she looked around, she gasped then ducked down.  

“Tad’s right,” she whispered excitedly.  “There is a Sasquatsh.  And I’m going to actually see it and get pictures of it.”

She carefully pulled out her cell phone and clicked on the camera.  Then she stood up and, using the zoom lens of the camera, took several clear pictures of the Sasquatch. The clicking of the camera sounded like explosions to Trixie’s ears, so she mentally prepared herself to run should the Sasquatch hear or sense her.  But to Trixie’s surprise, the Sasquatch didn’t move.  It didn't even turn its head.

“Wait a minute,” Trixie murmured.  “That can’t be right.”  

She crept closer and stood up to get another picture of the creature.  Again, it didn’t move or register any detection of nearby movement.  Trixie jumped up and down and waved her arms.  The Sasquatch didn’t move.  Cautiously, she approached the creature, then burst out laughing.  

“Oh, yeah.” she patted the Sasquatch.  “My big, brave husband is going to protect me from you.”

Quickly, she scampered back to the part of the path where Tad had left her, grinning all the while.  

“This is going to be epic,” she whispered to herself.  

Trixie swatted at a bug then scratched at the bite mark it had left on her arm.  She paused when she  heard the soft tread of Tad’s footsteps as he quickly ran toward Trixie then crouched down, a large broken piece of branch in his hand.

“Are you sure that’s big enough?” Trixie whispered, trying to appear serious.

“It has to be,” answered Tad.  “Let’s get going.  But if we meet Sasquatch, you keep moving and I’ll try to distract him.”

“Oh, Tad,” said Trixie, her eyes wide and her lips twitching slightly. “Are you sure you can handle this beast? I mean it’s nothing like that 20 foot rat snake.”

“I’ll give it my best shot.”

Tad, holding the limb over his shoulder, led  the two down the path while Trixie sauntered along behind him, barely able to keep the grin off her face.  Suddenly, Tad stopped and pointed ahead.

“There it is,” he whispered.  “You keep going and I’ll keep watch.  Once you’re safely past him, then I’ll go.”

Trixie nodded stoically and pated Tad’s arm.  “Okay.  But Tad, be careful and know that I really admire your bravery.”

Tad gave Trixie a quick kiss, then pushed her down the path while he waited to see what the Sasquatch would do.  Trixie proceeded down the path but suddenly, she disappeared into the brush.

“Whhaat?” Tad gripped the limb tighter and took off running toward the place he had last seen his wife.  Suddenly he found himself near the small grove of trees. With a few more steps, he saw   that the Sasquatch was just several yards from him.  Standing up to his full height, Tad cautiously stepped off the path and tiptoed toward the creature. He stopped when he saw that Trixie was now standing close to the Sasquatch, her phone camera clicking madly.

“Trixie!” he whispered hoarsely. “Get out of there. And go to the car.  I’ve got you covered.”

“No.  I want to get a really good picture and now is my chance,” replied Trixie, as she moved a few steps closer to the elusive creature.

Seeing her close the gap between herself and the Sasquatch, Tad panicked and charged out of the brush, screaming and waving the large stick around, making as much noise as he could, his squawking and yelling echoing off the nearby trees. He smacked the large stick against a tree, hoping that noise would frighten off the Sasquatch.  But the only thing that did was crack his stick in half.  Tad, holding both sticks, hopped up and down, continuing with his racket. But the Sasquatch didn’t even budge. Panting heavily, Tad stopped.  

“What the heck?” he gasped.

Trixie walked up to the Sasquatch and slapped it on the shoulder.  “Sasquatch, I’d like you to meet my brave husband.  Brave husband, meet Sasquatch, or a plywood version of him.”

Stunned, Tad stared at the plywood cutout that was painted all in black while Trixie giggled, first softly then louder.

“I suppose you think this is funny?” demanded Tad.

“Oh, I certainly do.”

Tad threw the sticks to the ground as a scowl grew on his face.  “And I suppose you got pictures of the whole thing?”

Trixie grinned.  “Better.  I got a video.”

Tad kicked at the ground.  “And what do you plan to do with that video,” he demanded.

“Nothing.  What could I do with such a video?” asked Trixie, trying to paint a look of innocence on her face.

Tad sighed.  “Oh, I don’t know.  Show a few friends maybe?”

Trixie looked aghast.  “Now why would I do that?  I mean, I’m sure you’d never tell a single soul about the twenty-five foot snake that tried to attack me.”

Tad’s eyebrows shot up.  “It’s now a twenty-five foot snake and it tried to attack you?”

“Yep.”

Tad nodded.  “Okay, I get it.  No snake story and no Sasquatch story.  Deal?"

Trixie toed at the ground. “Hmm.  I think that would work.  Did you also say we should have Wimpy’s more often?”

Tad nodded soberly. “I did”

“So, no Sasquatch or snake story but more Wimpy’s.”

Nodding, Tad held out his hand.  “Deal?”

Trixie took it.  “Deal.  Nice doing business with you, Webster.”

“I hear you, Belden-Webster.  But I better never hear about this Sasquatch from anybody.”

“What Sasquatch?” asked Trixie innocently.

“Right. Now let’s get moving.  We’ve got about a quarter mile to go and I’m starving.”

“Lead on, Sas-squawk,” giggled Trixie.

“Okay, Snake Charmer,” answered Tad.

Trixie threw up her hands.  “Okay, now I’m really done.”

Tad shook his head in mock disgust.  “Good.  But I seriously doubt I’ve heard the last of this,” he muttered as he stepped among the weeds that dotted the darkening path in the Hollis Nature Preserve..

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Word count- 3099

Author Notes:I couldn’t write any of my stories without the original stories written by Kathryn Kenny. She did such a wonderful job with her characters that we still love them and think about them today.  Thank you to my daughter Katie and my sister, Judith, who does such a great job correcting my errors.  Also, a huge thank you to Mary N. when needed.  But best of all, thank you to all who read.  Your comments make me smile.

Mapquest - An American online web mapping service.

Geocaching - an outdoor recreational activity that basically consists of finding hidden containers (caches) that are stashed in various places through the use of a Global Positioning System.

Photo - mine!  And yes, I took that pic in a nature preserve while out geocaching one day.