Wednesday, October 8, 2014

In the still of the night

It's impossible to describe how quiet it is at the 7MSN, especially during the middle of the night.
But every once in awhile, something breaks the silence, and it's enough to set all your hairs on end. 
I've been wanting to share the experience with you, so I've kept the video camera on the nightstand 
in preparation. The video below is mostly audio, so don't be alarmed if you see a black screen. 
Just imagine it's 3 a.m. ... and very dark ... 7 miles south of nowhere, New Mexico.







27 comments:

  1. I'm glad you checked on Johnny and the chickens. That scares me for them. Smooch isn't big enough to take one on either.

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  2. In my bi-coastal experience with coyotes, that yipping is advertising a kill. When you get a gaggle of them together, they do that to greet each other. We had a gaggle walking down the road in front of our houses in California and as they passed, every house light went on. There were at least twenty of them yippin' and carryin' on like drunken teenagers. Here on the East Coast, we have smaller bands. For a while after a yipping, our lab goes crazy for the scent of the bones in the woods on the other side of our property boundary.

    That sounded loud enough to be within the range. Watch Smooch and see if she can show you to the spot. If there was only one, it was probably a small kill.

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  3. So erie. There is a pack of them that live near the barn, and every so often I hear them as the sun is setting. It's especially surreal when the sun is setting in the winter and everything else is still.

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  4. I love that sound! (As long as the chickens & Johnny are safe.) We lived on the edge of hundreds of forested acres in Conn. & heard coyotes almost every night. They're very very shy of people & also had no interest in meeting my Siberian Huskies. We even heard their babies squealing in spring. Yours, there, sounds like a young one. May have gotten separated from the pack (mama). They yip & howl to let the others know where they are -- think lost toddler bawling away in the grocery store. Smooch is a gallant knight in shining armor, even if she is a girl!

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  5. Whew! When I saw the lights in the window at the beginning of the video, I thought it was going to be an alien landing. ;-)

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  6. most definitely would keep me awake. glad the lights off helped... i am surprised you have them that close with your Donkey Defenders around

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  7. Gives me chills!

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  8. How unnerving.

    Jean

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  9. As long as JCC is safe, that's all that matters. Your boy sounds unnervingly close though. I love how Smooch's voice deepens to sound like a much bigger dog than she is. :)

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  10. Coyote had a lot to say. I'm with Smooch; too noisy for sleeping! With all that rangeland, he had to come yipping at your door?

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  11. What a neat idea to record this for us! Impressive baritone (or rather, alto), Smooch! Toward the end I thought I heard the herd stampeding home, but then realized it was Smooch's tail wagging against the pillow when you approached her. :)

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  12. When they start howling around here, it sounds like a lot of them. It's eerie to hear but at the same time I love it. Glad you checked on JCC and the girls and they were safe.

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  13. Glad you recorded it. When I'm out walking my dogs at 5am and sometimes they are start howling like that and it feels like they are surrounding me....I'm so glad my dogs are with me or else I'd be scared. Betsy

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  14. Well, it sounded to me like the coyote was saying "So long as you are up, may I please have milk and cookies and maybe a side order of fresh rabbit?". Coyotes have been spotted near a local park here. Everyone is told to keep their cats and dogs inside at night. Freaks people out when they are driving to work and see a coyote loping across the street.

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  15. Because we have sheep, we don't like them too close. When I am somewhere I don't have to worry about the livestock, I like the sound. They seem to make a circuit and we will go weeks not hearing the pack near us. One thing that will shut them up is to shoot off a gun, not at anybody, just making a bang. Fireworks might do the same thing, but in your case, that might scare the animals and of course, you may not have a gun. They can sure make some interesting sounds and sometimes they do it to taunt a dog hoping it will come out and they can kill it-- which they will definitely try to do if they feel they can.

    Years ago, when I was a child, we lived on the edge of wilderness. My mom heard the coyotes and they had puppies in a kennel. The coyote was right outside its yard. Dad worked nights and was gone. So she got out the rifle, didn't know much how to handle it and it went off, shot right through the dresser but did no other damage. She didn't admit it had happened until years later. Illustrates the drawback of guns for those not sure how to use them safely. Coyote did not get puppies or shot ;).

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  16. Perhaps if you had a recording of a larger predator, that might encourage Mr. Yippy-Yap to move on down the road. Timber wolf or some big cat yowl /noise? Surely some download site has something that would annoy the varmint(s) ... hmmm or maybe some opera (Wagner ?) , or a noisy movie soundtrack? Or just rig up a speaker and join him with a little karaoke? You singing along to your favorite country songs would be less likely to alarm the herd (hopefully).

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  17. Awwww, Smooch...I know that voice so well and love how serious she is about protecting you and "her" ranch. Great video/audio...

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  18. When I rented acreage prior to moving to the island, coyotes were frequent visitors (as were bears), and I would hear them yipping as they bounced around killing little rodents. There was an abandoned alpaca in my back pasture, left by a previous tenant years before, and imagine my surprise when I looked out one morning shortly after I moved into the house, to see a coyote and the alpaca lying side by side on a little hill in the pasture. After that it was a frequent sight - prey and predator, peaceably watching the world go by, sides touching. They even stayed together while I took some photos from the fence line. Eventually, I found a forever home for the alpaca, and I often wonder if the coyote misses his friend.

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  19. On such a still night, I'm sure it's tricky to tell exactly where the coyote is, although this one sounded close, it could have been far from the corral! If your sky was clear for the lunar eclipse to show, I'm sure this coyote would be howling, "THE MOON IS BEING EATEN!...THE HUMANS ARE RIGHT!...IT IS MADE OF CHEESE!!"

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  20. Doesn't matter where you live, there is always some noisy neighbor disturbing the peace!

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  21. I agree with Elsewhere, great post! A little scary worrying about everyone but you of course had that covered.
    I like that the they come home when the lights go on,.... Like when Howie would whistle when the street lights went on and I came running like a mo-fo!

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  22. An American in Tokyo10/8/14, 7:23 PM

    First time I've ever heard a coyote!!~

    I wonder if he was saying, "Someone turn off the damn light (moon)! I can't sleep!" ha ha!

    Glad that everyone was safe and sound! I thought it was interesting that Lucy and the boys rushed home when they saw the lights! Were they worried about you and Smoochie-poo? Or maybe looking for some midnight snacks?

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  23. I just played that video, and my puppy (Little Stinky) went absolutely crazy barking!

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  24. We are up late and whatever it was got Stella barking too, running from front door to back door! We'll turn off the light and head for the feathers too!

    Jo and Stella

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  25. Interesting video. We used to have coyotes right here in our neighborhood, but I haven't seen one around here in over 20 years. They used to run down our street. I do see them when I'm out walking or taking photos. One time I looked up from my morning walk (at the city-owned golf course) and 4 were staring at me! That's a little too many! They HAVE attacked people and dogs in Palm Springs.

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