Wiley Coyote

When you live in the wilds of New England you see all sorts of wildlife, from birds to woodchucks to deer, and even bears. However, one thing you don't see as much are coyotes, even though we know they're out there because we can hear them. The other day we were all sitting at the table having lunch when one popped out of the woods and stood in our backyard. We all agreed that it was clearly a coyote, which I thought was pretty cool. I have a lot of respect for coyotes, they're incredibly smart survivors, though they do a number of pets and livestock. Fortunately we keep our cats inside.

I do seem to notice that there has been a marked decrease in the number of sightings of the woodchucks that live under our shed. They used to be such pests when they raided our garden, but once we stopped gardening, I didn't really care that they were there. In fact, they were sort of cute and we saw them pretty frequently. Now I never see them and wonder if the coyote may have did them in. I've also noticed fewer squirrel sightings at the bird feeder, though I find it hard to imagine that a coyote could catch a squirrel. Then again, stranger things have happened.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Pat Gaines for the pic.