As an active field researcher I must be careful not to attribute human characteristics to Bigfoot. Yet I believe there should be some room for being imaginative in trying to gain some insight on how the Bigfoot behave. It’s like a bit of a juggling act being performed on a skinny tightrope- trying to be objective in collecting Bigfoot evidence- while not overlooking something that seems insignificant at first glance. So here I go…

Recently I found a small hole in a grassy clearing about 50 yards from the area I call my Food Drop, where I leave the Bigfoot food at my Main Research Box. It looked as if the freshly dug hole had been made by someone scooping the dirt out with their hand. The hole was about the size of a peanut butter jar. Inside the hole I found a small handful of ripe corn kernels.

A few more kernels on the ground led to an ear of corn about 25 feet away. The ear was less than five inches long, and its husk had been peeled away. And a small pile of kernels lay next to it. Rows of kernels were still uniformly intact on the ear of corn. Someone had very neatly started on one end, and was picking off the kernels and was working their way to the fat end of the cob. My immediate impression was that I had interrupted someone at work.

I was a bit baffled as I tried to reason out a possible scenario: Did a squirrel do this? A raccoon? A deer, or another critter? A person? Bigfoot?

The big why was why weren’t the kernels eaten? Instead they had been plucked off.

If it was a Bigfoot, why would it be attempting to bury just the kernels? Why not the whole ear? Or a whole bunch of ears, like the Indians who used to inhabit this area did? Plus it was late September and the feed corn crop was fully mature, just waiting to be harvested, why bother going through with the tedious task of picking kernels off a single ear? Especially if arm loads of ripen ears could be easily grabbed just a few feet away?

The following Sunday I returned to the site and found the small hole still uncovered. All of the kernels of corn had been removed, and replaced with a handful of leaves. I recovered the small cob I found a week earlier. There were only a few kernels left on it.

During the week I had given some thought to what I had stumbled on the previous Sunday. It finally dawned on me that I was thinking too much like an adult. I realized what I found was the workings of a child at play. It made sense to me- I envisioned a child idling away its time as an adult(s) stood watch. I remembered my childhood when I would spend countless hours playing with Lego pieces or Lincoln Logs. There was no aim in my play- just having idle fun.

In 2003 I first noted a small Bigfoot print only about seven inches in length. The last time I had seen a similar print was in the late summer of 2004, and it was then eight and a half inches long. So I knew I was dealing with at least one juvenile inside my research box. On several occasions I’ve heard what sounded like kids playing inside the woods.

At the base of a nearby ridge I found a small pile of stones in September 2003. I was a bit bewildered how a pile of small stones happened to be placed there. They seemed out of place. Then in the springof 2005 I discovered another pile of small stones placed atop some leaves, further down the same ridge. I placed one stone in my back pocket, and moved on. Gradually I began to realize that the small stones I had seen reminded me of how I used to play with marbles as a kid. Even how on family trips my mom used to let me take some of my marbles with me, so I could idle away the time playing with them in the backseat of the car.

A few weeks later I returned to find the second pile of stones I had discovered. I looked very intensely for over an hour for the pile of stones, but couldn’t find them. I still have that small stone I had put in my back pocket. It’s roughly the size of a marble- but in no way is it perfectly round in shape. It is very smooth in texture when I rub it with my fingertips.

After I had found the small hole empty of corn kernels, I placed two cookies inside it and covered it back up with leaves. I was really hoping to make some type of personal connection with a juvenile Bigfoot by sharing the stash hole.

When I returned the next Saturday I found the two cookies still inside the hole, but crawling with insects. I was disappointed. But nearby at my Food Drop a small ear of corn was laying on the ground. Half of its kernels were neatly picked off by rows, and a pile of ripe kernels lay next to the ear.

I’m always telling people how the Bigfoot surprise me in the things they do. I have to remind myself that I think like a human. The Bigfoot do what they want to do, when they want to do it. Bigfoot is its own unique species.