Fall Daze

Wednesday, September 01, 2021 —(On September 20, the full moon, “Harvest”, will rise nearest to earth.)

It’s definitely Fall. Chillier and noisier.

Before my Jersey Giant Rooster crowed and awakened the local area, earlier this morning we were visited by coyotes. While roaming on my property, they announced themselves with short screams before disappearing.

My dogs, all inside the house, noisily carried on for what seemed forever. They couldn’t be outside for another half-hour when likely the coyotes would be gone. The dogs found lingering scents while finally outside and renewed their barking.

I awakened to screamy coyote yips with a scary thought of my young chickens as coyote bait. Quickly though, I realized the animals weren’t hunting my chickens but just passing through. Coyotes scream to communicate, keep the pack together. A first short outburst outside my house was answered in seconds by a noisier outburst down the road. I estimated two animals were traveling and hunting.

In years past, bunches of coyotes visited during nighttime hunts. Over to the east is a large BLM, and north is a large expanse for growing hay. This side of town remains a bit rural with big grassy spaces inhabited by small critters that coyotes typically hunt.

Cooler weather brings out more wild ones. I toss seeds for the chipmunk population busily gathering and storing. Explosions of small beings invite more raptors, flying lower and circling over unusual places, like my property (always when I’ve no camera).

I wonder why it feels so important to keep my cat, Max, inside. It protects little wild ones but won’t save them from other predator types. I guess it’s one way of limiting outright opportunity. Max hangs out laying in my garden. When something alive pops within distance of a paw stretch, he’s simply grabs and gets. In contrast, those searching in roaming packs or flying overhead must work harder for victims.

Dear Friends: What more of the “old normal” will reappear in this developing cooler season? Diana