A chilling night

Before I get to the real story I'll tell most of you that don't know me that I have very poor eyesight. A virus in my eyes in my twenties left me with much retinal scaring. So a lot of what I see is through peripheral vision. The virus and the three letter word I don't believe in (age) has combined to also give me big time issues with night blindness. I can see OK to drive at night but I won't do it if I don't have to. And thanks to my old roomie Michael who got me a G.P.S. for Christmas. It has been a life saver at night.

So now to the story. I have been having an awful time getting to sleep lately. My mind goes all the time so bedtime can be hard. Even with medication I have trouble falling and staying asleep. Last night was particularly hard for some reason. Three hours after I went to bed I finally went into a dead sleep.

But at 2:05am I was jerked out of my sleep by the sounds of howling, yelping, and calling. About five nights ago I'd heard it for the first time ... coyotes. They were far to the west of me by maybe a mile or more. But this time they sounded like they were next to my house! I scrambled in the darkness, glasses, socks, pants, out to the mudroom, shoes, jacket, flashlight ... and no gun ... so I grabbed my much cherished grandfather's pitchfork that hangs on the wall. I stepped out into the darkness not wanting at that point to turn lights on. Just as I stepped out they began another round of yelping and crying ... I felt the hair raise on my whole body and goose bumps covered me. I popped on my flash light and saw glowing eyes looking at me. Just off the fence line about 75 yards away a pack of at least seven were in the pasture. For me that is WAY too close for comfort. All I could think about was the safety of the goats and chickens. So I rushed to check them. They were bedded down and quiet. So I walked back over to the east pasture, squeezed under the barbed wire to make a vain attempt to chase them off when seconds later more began howling in the ravine to the south, then another group began to the west in the ravine still on the tract I live, and across the road to the west . They were all over the place ... and the farm was in the center of it all. Basically I was surrounded except to the north. Of course they could have been there and just not making noise. I began running towards them, and yelling and kept that up until the cool air of the night crept into my throat and lungs and I was horse. At that point I was about 100 yards from the house and the animals had retreated further into the darkness. So knowing that I really had no way to control the situation other than making my presence known like I tried, I walked back to the house, grabbed another heavier jacket, and sat outside the barn just listening and looking into the night. By that time my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and even with the poor sight I could make out silhouettes of the tress, the rolling hills, houses, and the amazing star filled sky. The coyotes had moved back to the west and across the road in their usual area by now and they were calling faintly. My adrenaline started to slow and it gave me another chance to enjoy and embrace my new life out here.

Some posh neighborhoods in Denver hire exterminators to come in and kill the coyotes. It's stupid and very controversial. Six months later there's new coyotes in the old territory. It's a losing battle. And of course they don't understand we are the ones who invaded, not the reverse. These people all want to live on the edge or in the wilds and don't get it that in doing so they have to compromise with the coyotes, hawks, snakes, deer, elk and other natives. And they can't handle that Fifi or Twinkle is A1 prime prey at the edge of town with all these wild animals that the residents so want to see but can't get it through their thick heads that wild animals eat too.

The coyotes belong here. man does not. So striking a balance is key in my thoughts. I will do all in my power to protect my pets and animals. If that means culling a pack I will indeed by a gun and do it. It is a last resort for me but I am prepared to go that far. I do not intend to go out with the neighbors on a slaughter campaign. I plan to look into my options like the Division of Wildlife and others. I am told by many that a Llama, or a donkey is a great guard animal. The guys at Matrix Compound have a Great Pyrenese that lives out with the goats. If a coyote pack is destroyed a new pack moves into the empty territory. So it's stupid to think you can dissolve the problem by killing them off. It doesn't work that way.

I climbed into bed at 3:35am worn down from the racing through the pasture, the yelling, and the adrenaline rush, and not looking forward to my body alarm waking me at 5:40am like it usually does most mornings. Chores did get done at 6am, but I am dead tired this morning and moving slow. But there's not much I'd change in this whole life of mine here. Again, I am a lucky man.

Ah, My Life at Wandering Bear Farm ...