The odd thing about the coyote I saw on that day was its behavior. As I was approaching the top of my hill to turn right into my driveway, there was a brown coyote trotting in the middle of my side of the road. He (or she?) was not concerned in the least about having the front grille of a F-350 one-ton diesel pick-up truck less than three feet behind his tail. I had to slow down for him or else I would have hit him.

Two days later after I saw the brown coyote, my neighbor told me he observed a grey one trotting away from my house out onto the road where the brown one traveled. That was also at the same time of the day.

The smell and texture of the coyote fur I saved fascinates me. I didn’t expect it to be as soft as it is. What’s even more interesting is its scent. My first impression was how much it reminded me of the sweet and pleasant odor horses have. My dog and cats were impressed too. It still stimulates their curiosity.

Some say that coyote fur smells like cinnamon. Others have said it has no odor, even when wet. One thing all agree on is that it doesn’t have the same smell that dogs naturally emit.

Close-up images of coyote fur seem scarce to find online. I did find one good photo revealing a sample of hair a coyote left behind on a fence. Eastern coyotes are becoming coywolves. Some in my area are reported to weigh as much as 90 pounds. I know the one I saw was at least as large as a male German Shepherd.

The coyote photo in my Middle of the Night Snack? post shows the smaller type (without wolf DNA) found in the Western portion of the US. That’s also the post where I briefly mention walking my German Shepherd and seeing at least a dozen pairs of coyote eyes scattered around a field I was approaching — all standing and staring — while Shadow and I did an about face and ran back home as fast as our legs could carry us.

She went around the corner for only a second. Then I heard her give a frightened growl. Instantly I called her back and we both went running into the house (her with her tail between her legs and me ready to pee). If it was an opossum, deer, or neighbor’s cat, she wouldn’t have ran like she did. I know all too well how fast wildlife can snatch dearly beloved pets, so needless to say my legs were shaky over the possibility that my sweet little dog could be gone forever right now. Thank God she isn’t. She sleeps on my couch nearby. →

One snow-covered winter night (around midnight) when walking my German Shepherd during a full moon, I noticed at least a dozen pairs of (coyote) eyes scattered around a field I was approaching. They all stood and stared. Both my dog and I promptly reversed direction and ran as fast as we could. That ended my fun walking down that road so late at night. (None of the roads nearby have street lights and whatever houses are around have their lights off by 11 p.m.).

Would you prefer to deal with coyotes in the daylight or in the dark?

Another night around midnight, when I was taking my German Shepherd for a walk in the rain, I heard a black bear grunting off to my side less than fifteen feet away. My flashlight was useless for visibility in the fog. Immediately I had my dog start barking on command, since I’ve heard bears don’t like large dogs. I don’t know what reaction that bear had to the noise, but I do know he left me alone. That was another rubber-legs night for me.

Bears around here will come inside a house. It doesn’t happen often, but I think one such experience would provide me with enough self-induced epinephrine to keep me awake for a month!

Nights… sometimes it’s necessary to be out in them. The good news is I only got hurt once while out in the dark with one of my pets. Here is a bit from that story:

“Anyhow, suddenly while I was still outside (I’d been out there already for about 5-10 minutes), I heard a strange scream from a wild animal very close by to where I was standing. Since I couldn’t see much because of how dark it was, I ran as fast as I could to the house (Rascal was ahead of me). Bam . . . down I went into a heap! Is that why they’re called slippers? The ground was full of sharp frozen lumps of dirt and snow and there was nothing to protect my arms and legs from getting cut as I fell and hit the ground hard.”

I thought I was ready to share a story of the night which I experienced that did not have a good ending (it happened many years ago), but now I think I’ll never be able to talk about it without feeling sick.

[Edit added on 5.13.9: Most likely the visitor on the 16th was a black bear. I say that because yesterday morning around 12:30 a.m. my bird feeders were attacked by one. The bear bent the wires of the stronger feeder and smashed the other feeder. Of course that had to happen shortly after buying and installing squirrel baffles!]

Hey girls, here comes redneck Santa… so make him work for his ride!

You don’t want to end up hanging around . . . do ya? Speaking of going up, up, and away,
. . . how do you know who might come tonight?

‘TWAS THE NIGHT JESUS CAME

‘Twas the night Jesus came and all through the house
Not a person was praying, not one in the house.
The Bibles were left on the shelf without care,
For no one thought that Jesus would come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And hubby in his chair with a beer on his lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the east there rose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and lifted the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here!
The light of His face made me cover my head-
It was Jesus returning, just as He said.

And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.
In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.

He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said, “It’s not here” my head hung in shame.
The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.

With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.
I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.

I stood and cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I’d known that this was the night.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is now drawing near.

There’s only one life and when comes the last call
We’ll find that the Bible was true after all.

1. To keep them out of the reach of neighborhood dogs, coywolves, and bears.

2. My husband, the hunter, butchers his own meat. The deer are left hanging (provided that its cool enough so the meat does not spoil) until he has the time to cut them up.

3. The meat will season, if it can be left to hang. This will make the venison more tender for eating. Hubby has left deer to hang for as long as two months (and we ate all of it!).

4. We don’t have a building to hang them in. The house is too warm and the ceilings are not high enough.