Menace in the Moonlight at Midnight

Menace in the Moonlight at Midnight

Jan 20th is the night I want to relay to you but the story really begins before then.

Late September on a Monday night, I remember that because Andy was supposed to be gone to a meeting out of town but the plane did not come to Eagle due to weather. Odd that unusual events most often occur when he is not home.

I was awakened from my sleep to the sound of our dogs barking, the odd thing was, there was something in the woods behind the generator shed barking back at them with a high pitched yap. Neither of us had ever heard it before. Andy got his gun and headed in the direction of strange barking but saw nothing. The next day I searched for the sound on the internet and discovered it was a Coyote. Not Good.

Many a night our sleep was broken, due to our visitor. We had to keep a close watch on the dogs and puppies. When coyotes and wolves start circling day after day or night after night, they are not just passing by, it means just one thing, trouble. They are testing their boundaries to see how close they can get without interference, they can grab a dog or pup and be gone in a matter of seconds. We adore all the wildlife here, after all, we do share the same backyard. We will only shoot if it is a threat..Just like they will only eat us if they are hungry.

A couple of months later we heard what sounded like two of them on our trail to Ford Lake,now we had double trouble. Coyotes are good at staying hidden. Then came the day when I saw one for the first time on the frozen river, right in our boat landing, a bit to close for comfort. Sightings on the river at the same time of day then became a regular event.

Midnight Jan. 20th... Outside the moon is full and bright as daylight, it is true you can read a book by it. All cosy in bed watching a movie when.. Dogs Panic Bark!!! We both jumped to the window to see which way they are looking. Dogs chains tight, all straining hard to see what was behind our pole shed, Andy rushed downstairs for his gun and I kept watch in the upstairs window. The dogs turned to face the cabin and I went to the other window so I could see what they saw. There it was right next to our cabin !!! I called to Andy giving him directions as it moved through the now empty summer dog lot....the dog houses are moved to a different spot for winter but he knew what I meant when I said it is next to Solo's house moving towards Iceberg's. Andy stepped out the backdoor into the moonlit night and that was the end of that menacing Coyote.

It was a hugh relief to us because our five puppies running free on the property are a just tasty snack for coyotes and wolves. This has been a cold winter and with it being a low rabbit year predators are more of a problem. We have never and never will take an animal just for the sport they are our friends and neighbors in the wild, not our enemies.