Quite a while ago, I saw something in our backyard that I thought was pretty amazing. I can’t remember how long ago, but it may have been before we got our fence, which was in late-December 2008.
I was washing dishes when movement in the backyard caught my eye. I looked closer and, to my amazement, I saw a coyote walking through the yard. Hubby wasn’t home at the time, of course, but I did tell him about it. He didn’t say, “yeah, right” to me at the time. But I know he was thinking just that. Before I even thought about saying “I saw a coyote,” I did some research to confirm that is what I had seen.
Knowing coyotes have expanded across the US (I read all kinds of stuff and remember lots of useless facts), I assumed they might be in Maryland, but I had to make sure. Maryland and Delaware were the last two states to have been colonized by coyotes. The first sightings were reported in 1972 in Western Maryland. They’ve been moving slowly eastward and, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, while the coyote population remains densest in the western part of the state, sightings now occur statewide.
Some time after I’d first seen the canine trot through the yard, I saw it across the street from our house. I told Hubby again. I can’t remember if he said anything, but I knew he still didn’t believe me. I didn’t capture any images, of course. I still haven’t managed to get any shots and, honestly, I haven’t given it much thought.
Until yesterday.
Around 8:00 a.m. yesterday, all three of the dogs were at the front door barking like crazy. Belle always barks at stuff. K and Meg will join in, in that order, if the mood strikes. You can tell by the tone and urgency of each dog’s bark if they’re barking to play, to say they saw/heard something or other, or to say “INTRUDER ALERT.”
As I said, they were all barking. Meg was saying “someone’s coming” and K was doing the crazy howl/yip she does that signaled an intruder.
Hubby went to see why they were barking.
“What’s out there?” I asked.
“A coyote,” he replied.
“Not inside the house,” I replied, thinking he was being a smart-ass (K’s crazy howl/yip does sound quite coyote-like). “Outside.”
“A coyote,” he said again. “I just saw it walking across the street.”
I was thrilled and told him as much, saying, “I’m so glad you saw it. I knew you didn’t believe me.”
He didn’t respond to that comment, but did say he’d thought it was a fox at first, until he saw the odd coloring.
Like I said, I still don’t have any pictures, but I do have a new mission. 🙂