A neighbor, the Coyote
My very first sighting of a coyote in the wild was here at my home. To my south is a marsh that covers several acres. Sometimes the birdlife is near unbelievable, and every year some Canadian honkers will nest there. Quite often those birds will start to honk for no apparent reason. This particular day I was working in the rafters on an extention of my house when the honking began like I had never heard it before, and in the rafters I had a perfect picture to see.
A coyote, carrying evidently a goose, was hightailing it to the east with several of those big honking birds hot on his/her tail. The coyote soon disappeared into brush, where the geese had too much sense to follow, but the noise didn't settle down for awhile. I went back to work.
That was the first sighting. At the time I had the night shift and would get home about two AM. Out of nowhere I would hear one coyote start yipping, then one would join in, then several would sing for many 30-40 seconds, then it would stop! I love that sound.
Many people don't just dislike the coyote, they hate them, for reasons like "They'll get your chickens!" even if not one neighbor even has chickens "They'll get your lambs!" even though sheep farmers now employ donkeys or llamas to "protect" their sheep. One guy even wrote a letter to the editor crying about seeing a coyote chasing a deer. Well, my goodness, the only way a coyote will pull down a deer is if something is wrong with the deer. I mean, come on, folks, that's nature. Predators need to kill other animals to survive themselves, and a weak, starving, or old deer (the only kind a coyote could pull down) a human hunter is "NOT" going to shoot for his trophy! Coyotes are necessary, as most of their prey is mice, gophers, rabbits...animals closer to their own size.
Not too long ago I was in my backyard and a coyote, a beautiful animal, ran past not twenty feet away. He/she didn't even see me. So I called, "Hey guy!" Vaguely the coyote's head swung toward me, so I could at least see the "wildness" in his/her eyes, but he/she didn't look directly at me, and didn't slow down from his/her leisurely gait.
I've had good moments with nature, but that was one of the best.
Thanks kids, and if anybody ever wants to contact me, please do.
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