Saturday encore ~ The daily coyotes

Maybe it's the time of year? Maybe it's the snow? I have no explanation for why 

all of these coyotes continue to show up every single morning. 

I took the pictures below through the windows Tuesday, around 8:15.

Look closely and you will see four out of the pack of nine.

They first appear at the far end of the corral and travel counterclockwise around the house.

Their behavior is so predictable that I know when to move from one window to another.

Lucy and the boys are still eating breakfast, and Smooch is in the back yard barking. 

Johnny and the chickens are in the barn.

I know nothing about coyote behavior to intelligently explain what these guys? gals? are doing.

My best guess is hunting for food.

The pack doesn't stay tightly together. They break off in smaller groups, 

which irritates me to no end because I can't get them all in one shot.

These two hang back to watch Smooch barking at them.

This one stands motionless under a juniper, where I know there are a boatload of rabbit holes.

His buddy comes along to wait with him. 

I hope the bunnies have telepathy and can hear me telling them to stay in their burrows.

Let me zoom out so you can get your bearings. 

The area in question is part of the tree cave outside my bedroom window.

Something frightened all the coyotes and they ran off.

Maybe one of the bunnies farted.

Whatever it was, they seemed to be in agreement that it was time to move on.

While all his buddies ran off, this one stayed back and howled, then howled some more.

I'm thinking he was inviting Smooch to join the pack.

It was at that point that I put the camera down, made Smooch come inside, and decided
she'd be staying in the house every morning henceforth until the pack moves on for good.

Saturday encore ~ 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.

Renovating the tree cave while the Ranger saves the day

After all of the commotion the daily coyotes have been causing around here, 

I've started taking preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of further drama.

This picture from last Wednesday's post shows the tree cave near my house 

where the coyotes like to hunt.

It's a target-rich environment of very old cedar trees. Rabbits, packrats, and who knows what else
live in the burrows beneath the ground-skimming limbs.

Unfortunately, the tree cave is also one of the herd's favorite places to hang out,

but it's not like there aren't a few hundred other trees they can hide under.

George: I smell trouble.

The plan is to remove all of the lower tree limbs so that the rabbits will leave eventually

and the coyotes will hunt someplace further from the house. 

Wishful thinking, probably, but all the physical activity makes me feel purposeful. And sore.

I know some of you are looking at my tree-trimming saw and thinking I should invest in an efficient,

labor-saving chainsaw. Did you know that the average chainsaw injury requires 110 stitches?

People who live 7 miles south of nowhere and 70 miles from 

the nearest emergency room should not own a chainsaw.

George is dismayed by the renovations.

On Sunday, I worked my way around about a third of the grove. 

The Ranger saved the day, helping me haul away all the limbs.

I attached a tow chain around the Ranger hitch and the biggest limb, 

then piled the smaller limbs on top, then merrily dragged the whole pile down the driveway

to the sacrifice area near the front gate...

...where I encounted my farrier and his truck, stuck in the mud.

The Ranger and tow chain saved the day again. I was giddy to learn that the Ranger

was powerful enough to tow a truck. Now if I can teach Smooch to drive,

I won't have to call a tow truck if my truck gets stuck.

As for those pesky coyotes...
They showed up in force Tuesday morning. Smooch was asleep in the house
but must have smelled them because she started carrying on something awful,
barking and running from window to window to see what they were doing.
I got mad and got my gun and fired a warning shot over their heads.
They scattered in all different directions and have not been back.
Ok, so it's only been two days, but I'm hopeful they got the message.

The daily coyotes

Maybe it's the time of year? Maybe it's the snow? I have no explanation for why 

all of these coyotes continue to show up every single morning. 

I took the pictures below through the windows Tuesday, around 8:15.

Look closely and you will see four out of the pack of nine.

They first appear in far end of the corral and travel counterclockwise around the house.

Their behavior is so predictable that I know when to move from one window to another.

Lucy and the boys are still eating breakfast, and Smooch is in the back yard barking. 

Johnny and the chickens are in the barn.

I know nothing about coyote behavior to intelligently explain what these guys? gals? are doing.

My best guess is hunting for food.

The pack doesn't stay tightly together. They break off in smaller groups, 

which irritates me to no end because I can't get them all in one shot.

These two hang back to watch Smooch barking at them.

This one stands motionless under a juniper, where I know there are a boatload of rabbit holes.

His buddy comes along to wait with him. 

I hope the bunnies have telepathy and can hear me telling them to stay in their burrows.

Let me zoom out so you can get your bearings. 

The area in question is part of the tree cave outside my bedroom window.

Something frightened all the coyotes and they ran off.

Maybe one of the bunnies farted.

Whatever it was, they seemed to be in agreement that it was time to move on.

While all his buddies ran off, this one stayed back and howled, then howled some more.

I'm thinking he was inviting Smooch to join the pack.

It was at that point that I put the camera down, made Smooch come inside, and decided
she'd be staying in the house every morning henceforth until the pack moves on for good.

Sunday leftovers

The temperature reached 40 a few times this week, so most of our snow was replaced with mud.

The tradeoff was worth it, if for no other reason than the frost-free hydrant at the barn finally thawed out.

The winter has taken a toll on Lady Mary's and Edith's good looks...

...but it hasn't affected their self-esteem, nor their egg production.

A very large pack of coyotes continues to visit us nearly every morning around 9:00. 

We must be on their regular rabbit-hunting loop. 

Smooch sounds the alarm, I run outside or to the window to watch...

...and Johnny and the chickens stay in their safe spots until the danger passes.

This time, Alan and Lucy took it upon themselves to escort the pack from the property.

I love having bodyguards.

I received my first-ever purchase from ebay this week. I've always been a little leery about that site

but took a chance when I found the $12.95 camera monitor covers I normally buy for sale there 

for $1.30. The seller was in Hong Kong but was "top rated with the highest buyer ratings."

Skeptical me said the price was too good to be true. Frugal me said go for it.

I went for it and am glad I did. I used PayPal for the transaction, thinking that might be

a little bit safer than giving my Visa card number to a vendor in China.

If my credit card information was ever hacked or my identity stolen, 

I might have to give up online shopping, and what fun would that be?

Smooch and I slip-slided to town yesterday to pick up the canvas prints I'd ordered for the dining room.

They turned out exactly as I had hoped, and I'm starting to come to terms with the new wall color.

Smooch issues a threat advisory

We had visitors Wednesday morning. I learned about them when I heard a stampede at the barn.

Hooves were pounding, feed tubs were getting knocked over, Smooch was barking like a maniac, 

and there was general chaos all around. By the time I looked out the right window, I saw 

a family of three coyotes standing quietly, looking back at Hank and deciding it was time to leave.

I went out to the barn to take attendance and all the chickens were present. 

When I opened the feed room door, Johnny was atop the hay stack, staring back at me. 

I believe these were his exact words: "Yes, I am aware that there are coyotes 

behind the barn. I'm not stupid."

Smooch, director of homeland security, immediately raised the threat level to orange 

for the remainder of the day...

...and her deputies backed her up.

Johnny monitored the pasture from a secure location.

Johnny: Stop worrying. We've got this.

Earth-moving day

It dawned on me after I posted this picture last week of Smooch on coyote watch that something 

was very wrong with it, and I don't mean the focus and color balance. 

That fence used to be 5 feet tall, and Smooch standing on her hind leg tippy toes is 3 feet tall. 

The math didn't add up. The fence didn't shrink and Smooch hadn't grown.

That could only mean one thing: the earth rose. 

Years of wind whipping across the corral had caused a sand dune to form along the fence line. 

The barrier between Smooch and the outside world/coyotes/JohnnyCashCat was suddenly not so formidable.

The earth would have to be lowered.

For once, Smooch's talents were put to good use.

We were making steady progress, and I thought we might be done by noon.

Then I realized both sides of the fence would have to be dug out.

 

The earth on the coyote side of the fence had risen as much, if not more than, on Smooch's side.

All of it would have to go, save for the cemetery where Rosebud and Snapper were laid to rest.

Smooch was very disappointed when I sent her into the house, but I feared for her safety, 

what with all the commotion of moving the Ranger back and forth, in and out of gates.

Besides, it was getting hotter and more humid and I didn't want to accidentally bury her in my delirium.

The upside to all the earth moving was that there were many beneficial places to move it to;

for example, the base of these fence posts, which used to be covered with dirt.

What the wind giveth, the wind taketh away.

There are days when I love my Ranger more than life itself, and this was one of those days.

When all was said and done, the fence was 5 feet high again. 

The danger of Smooch jumping out or a coyote jumping in had diminished.

The fence posts were buried and the drop-offs from the stalls to the pasture were filled in.

I was sort of exhausted but in a good way.

And I couldn't help but smile when Alan pitched in to tamp down the dirt.