Did I ever get a wake up call on Wednesday morning. I live in the country. Have a huge yard and a barb wire fence around it to keep the cows & ponies out. I'm used to seeing moose and deer jump the fence and go their merry way. The dogs duck under the fence to explore the little packages the cows (good to roll in) and ponies (sweet to eat)have left behind. I never worry about the dogs - they run around for a few minutes but always keep myself in their view. I never worry about any other wild life. WRONG - TIME TO WAKE UP HERE!!!
I was sitting at my dining room table working on my lap top when something caught my eye. On the other side of the wire fence is a coyote pup - probably one of the early spring litters - checking out my "vegetable scraps" that I have thrown over the fence. The pup is very interested in something and so is a magpie which the pup keeps chasing away. I watched them for about 5 minutes, at the same time wondering why my dogs hadn't seen this drama from their vantage point on the back of the couch. They would be able to see what I was seeing. They must of read my mind as they went "crazy" barking and lunging at the window. The pup quickly too off across the field. Smokey the IG watched - he has awsome eyesight. About a hour later I took the dogs out for their run. Where did Smokey take off to? Thank god he listens really well when I holler 'NO'. He was 300' into the field before I knew what was going on. I've never had to do a yard check before the boys went out but after the other day I'd better be a lot smarter and look.
The one thing that really bothers me is this is so not like the coyotes at this time of year. They would only be in the garbage pile later in the winter when the snow was getting too deep and crusty to hunt mice. Are they short of food already?
I was sitting at my dining room table working on my lap top when something caught my eye. On the other side of the wire fence is a coyote pup - probably one of the early spring litters - checking out my "vegetable scraps" that I have thrown over the fence. The pup is very interested in something and so is a magpie which the pup keeps chasing away. I watched them for about 5 minutes, at the same time wondering why my dogs hadn't seen this drama from their vantage point on the back of the couch. They would be able to see what I was seeing. They must of read my mind as they went "crazy" barking and lunging at the window. The pup quickly too off across the field. Smokey the IG watched - he has awsome eyesight. About a hour later I took the dogs out for their run. Where did Smokey take off to? Thank god he listens really well when I holler 'NO'. He was 300' into the field before I knew what was going on. I've never had to do a yard check before the boys went out but after the other day I'd better be a lot smarter and look.
The one thing that really bothers me is this is so not like the coyotes at this time of year. They would only be in the garbage pile later in the winter when the snow was getting too deep and crusty to hunt mice. Are they short of food already?