[hoodat]

We sort of got sidetracked here. To get back to the OT I noticed another effect of the solitary life. Due to the changes in my thought patterns wild animals became less wary of me. Coyotes would allow themselves to be seen. In brushy country if you see a coyote it is almost surely because they allow it. I would often hear them pacing me off to the side as I walked about and when I came to an open spot there would often be a coyote sitting there with a humorous "Gotcha" sort of expression. My cabin door was always open except in cold weather and possums, raccoons and skunks would often drop in showing no fear of me. One skunk in particular came by nightly for a chocolate cookie which she would eat out of my hand, Nothing but chocolate chip would do. She acted offended if I offered her any other kind.
In our humanized world we often forget that we are also animals and if they perceive no threat they will act normally around us. Many of them would like to be closer to us if we would stop perceiving them as a threat.