Stealth in the Pines: Wild Steel™ #1 – The Cougar Story
Nature in the Raw
On an early fall evening in September, the forest gave us a rare and humbling gift — and it became the beginning of a Wild Steel™ cougar story that still gives me chills.
One of our trail cams captured a moment that felt unreal: a trail cam cougar gliding silently through the trees, just 350 feet from where our log home would one day stand. Back then, it was only a rugged little camp with a travel trailer and a dream. But that evening, everything paused.
There he was.
Broad daylight.
No rush.
No fear.
Only grace.
He meandered past the camera with the confidence of something that belongs — because he does belong. This is his land too.
Something about that moment stayed with me. Long after the video ended, the image lingered — this powerful cat, in no hurry, walking with that quiet authority only wild things seem to know. It was more than just a sighting. It was a reminder: nature is always watching. Always near. Always wild.
That cougar near the future site of our cabin, caught on a trail cam in broad daylight, wasn’t just a rare sight — it was the spark behind one of the first signs in the Wild Steel™ Series. I decided to sketch that memory from the feeling it gave me. I didn’t want to just draw a cougar — I wanted to capture his spirit, his strength and stealth. That sketch became a cougar design inspiration unlike any I’d done before.
The final piece: a bold silhouette of a cougar perched high on a rock, overlooking everything below. Not stalking. Not pouncing. Just watching. Just being. Like he did that evening.
This design is more than metal. It’s a marker of that moment — a symbol of the quiet power that still lives in the pines.
Spotting a cougar near the future site of our cabin on the trail cam in broad daylight was as thrilling as it was unexpected. It moved with silent confidence, weaving through the pines just a few feet from where our driveway now runs. That encounter didn’t just leave us in awe — it became the foundation of this Wild Steel™ cougar story, now immortalized in forged metal.
Wild Steel™ Cougar Story Video
Trail cam video of cougar near off-grid cabin in the Pacific Northwest—real wildlife moment behind the Wild Steel™ sign design.
From Trail-Cam To Sketch
That moment stayed with me long after the video ended. So I sketched it—not the exact frame, but the feeling. The presence. The quiet dominance of a cougar on his own terms.
That sketch became the foundation for what’s now available in two forms:
A wall-style steel sign, featuring the cougar poised on a rock ridge, overlooking a sweeping vista of trees and distant mountains—a bold silhouette that captures the wild at its most watchful.
And a yard address sign, built around that same powerful silhouette. In this version, the cougar still holds his stance above the trees—but now he stands atop a rugged log-style nameplate where your personalized text becomes part of the landscape.
Both are crafted as part of the Wild Steel™ Series, merging story, steel, and solitude into art.
Original cougar sketch used to create Stealth in the Pines metal sign for Wild Steel Series
Here’s the Sign Inspired by This Moment
The cougar in the trail cam wasn’t in this pose, but the feeling it gave me is what I wanted to capture. I sketched the cougar as I remembered him: strong, still, and surveying the land. That sketch became the foundation for the silhouette design now forged in steel.
Our Off-Grid Log Cabin
Tucked up in the mountains, this is the log home we built by hand, one log at a time. We live off-grid here, surrounded by quiet woods, wandering wildlife, and the kind of stillness that lets you notice the little things. Most of our sign designs are born from real moments that happen just beyond this porch: a cougar crossing through the pines, a fawn curled up on our driveway, a chipmunk or Jaybird raiding the feeder.
This cabin isn’t just where we live—it’s where most sketches and stories behind Wild Steel™ begin.
Crafted from powder-coated steel and inspired by a real encounter just 350 feet from our cabin porch, this sign honors the stealth and strength of the wild cougar. Customize it with your name, address, or whatever your nature says.
Explore Stealth in the Pines — the first piece in the Wild Steel Series, forged from real experience and inspired by raw nature.
