The Wild Life of Canada...
Wow, there's been a lot of wildlife about today.
Now, you must understand that we're in the middle of the boonies of BC, in a nice rural area near the end of a dead-end road at the top of a hill in the middle of the woods, where we can't actually see our neighbours and I can tan or chase chickens naked if I have to (I'll share that story if you ask) because you can hear any vehicles coming with lots of time to cover up (or duck behind something, heh), so there's gonna be some wildlife. We have our regular little herd of deer, which like to stand in the middle of the road at dusk (or better yet, leap in front of your car), and there's a moose about, and lots of bunnies, and at least one coyote. And foxes. And cougars. And bears.
But still, today has been nuts. I mean, they're there, you see their tracks in the snow (especialy the bunnies, which make nice stew), but today our front lawn has been Grand Central Station. Seriously.
There were two deer (does, both of them) in our front yard this morning (the dogs ran them off), and then, about an hour later, Hubby says, "There's a coyote out there." So naturally I grab the .22, because we've got chickens. However I can never manage to cock the damn thing; it's kind of stiff. So Hubby took it, but by then it had wandered away into the trees a little. Still, he went out onto the porch to try and get it (he couldn't, but fired a couple of shots off anyways to chase it off), and there was another one there! And another one! Three bloody coyotes, right by our house! Good thing we have the two big dogs; we have a Shih Tzu, a blind Basset-cross, and a toddler, so I really don't want them hanging around. The chickens I care less about; they're not laying very well right now, anyways. Still, I don't want them et, either...
Then, this afternoon, a stag wanders through our front yard! Now, you have to understand, this is hunting season, so they tend to be pretty cautious, and avoid populated areas. So this was so cool! Unfortunately Hubby wasn't able to get a bead on him. And then, just now, we had two does (we think the same two from this morning) grazing under the tree on our front lawn, so close that they triggered the security light on our house! I mean, that's about... 12' away from our living room. Baby was thrilled. He watched them with great interest, as they gradually wandered away across the driveway and into the bush, and would really like them to come back. I'm trying to explain the concept of 'wild' animals, that don't come when you call...
So there you go. Grand Central Station! We only need a visit from our nocturnal flying squirrels to make the set complete... Or the bear...
Now, you must understand that we're in the middle of the boonies of BC, in a nice rural area near the end of a dead-end road at the top of a hill in the middle of the woods, where we can't actually see our neighbours and I can tan or chase chickens naked if I have to (I'll share that story if you ask) because you can hear any vehicles coming with lots of time to cover up (or duck behind something, heh), so there's gonna be some wildlife. We have our regular little herd of deer, which like to stand in the middle of the road at dusk (or better yet, leap in front of your car), and there's a moose about, and lots of bunnies, and at least one coyote. And foxes. And cougars. And bears.
But still, today has been nuts. I mean, they're there, you see their tracks in the snow (especialy the bunnies, which make nice stew), but today our front lawn has been Grand Central Station. Seriously.
There were two deer (does, both of them) in our front yard this morning (the dogs ran them off), and then, about an hour later, Hubby says, "There's a coyote out there." So naturally I grab the .22, because we've got chickens. However I can never manage to cock the damn thing; it's kind of stiff. So Hubby took it, but by then it had wandered away into the trees a little. Still, he went out onto the porch to try and get it (he couldn't, but fired a couple of shots off anyways to chase it off), and there was another one there! And another one! Three bloody coyotes, right by our house! Good thing we have the two big dogs; we have a Shih Tzu, a blind Basset-cross, and a toddler, so I really don't want them hanging around. The chickens I care less about; they're not laying very well right now, anyways. Still, I don't want them et, either...
Then, this afternoon, a stag wanders through our front yard! Now, you have to understand, this is hunting season, so they tend to be pretty cautious, and avoid populated areas. So this was so cool! Unfortunately Hubby wasn't able to get a bead on him. And then, just now, we had two does (we think the same two from this morning) grazing under the tree on our front lawn, so close that they triggered the security light on our house! I mean, that's about... 12' away from our living room. Baby was thrilled. He watched them with great interest, as they gradually wandered away across the driveway and into the bush, and would really like them to come back. I'm trying to explain the concept of 'wild' animals, that don't come when you call...
So there you go. Grand Central Station! We only need a visit from our nocturnal flying squirrels to make the set complete... Or the bear...