Tree-house
New Waverly, Texas is located smack in the middle of a huge forest and
state park. This forest is unlike most depicted in movies and books. The forest
around my home was filled with extremely tall trees packed so tightly together
you could not see more than 20 feet into it. The tops of the trees strained
your neck; they seemed to be about as tall as the sky. I lived in a circle of
trailer homes completely surrounded by this thick ocean of trees. My friend
Michael lived right next to me and was my investigation partner. Every day
after school you could find our backpacks on the edge of tree line and know
where we were. We explored every part of the dense forest, discovering many
unique things about nature that still interest me today.
The state park is a strict no-shooting zone and the wildlife is very aware
of this. As a result, animals such as deer and feral hogs are not afraid of
humans. In fact, one Saturday morning my brother and I were eating breakfast
with Michael when all of a sudden we see three deer emerge from the thick
underbrush. They notice us immediately but aren't phased by our presence. Then,
they just waltz out in the open and munch on some grass. Another time, We were
pushing through some bushes and entered a new clearing. At first we were calm
and wanted to explore. Next thing I hear is Michael yelling, "Run!".
I jolt upright and turn towards him. He was in a full sprint coming at me, and
behind was a huge boar leaping at him. It looked like a pig, but bigger,
faster, and way scarier. It resembled an angry Pumba from the Lion King.
Without an invitation I darted ahead of Michael, springing back into the bushes
and continuing until my lungs were dead. Michael came up behind me and with a
hand resting on my shoulder he whimpered, “I guess pigs are that slow". We
both let out a sigh of relief and laughed. He explained to me how he saw little
baby boars on the other side of the clearing and wanted to get a closer look.
Then the mother rolled out of the brush and went full attack mode on him. That
was the first time either of us saw wild boar in the forest. It was crazy to
think they were less than a few miles from our home and we had no idea they
were there. It inspired many more searches into the forest to explore what else
lies in its depths. Of course this also led to several more encounters with
boars and a few life saving sprints to safety.
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