Safe and Sound...

Crystal

I suspect when Crystal made her way back home from the big city (at least 13 miles to the farmhouse) three years ago November 2nd, she encountered many strange and scary things. City and highway traffic could have led to her demise at any point along the trip. Then there was farm machinery, as it was harvest time. But what had to be a surprise for her once she got out into the country were the other animals.

How do I know? Well, when we start a vehicle around here when she's outside, she avoids it, but isn't freaking out or running frantically. I most often find her on the porch, soaking up the sun in one of her favorite chairs. Claudette (her mama), gets closer than I'm comfortable with, so I'll usually get out of the vehicle and shoo her back to the house.

Crystal is the little wild child. While Claudette is ready to come in the house around dusk and remain for the rest of the night, her daughter is a night owl. She won't come in until well after ten o'clock at night. If she stops by for her five o'clock dinner, she wants to go back out - even if it's to hang out on the porch - until right before we go to bed. Then, she can be found on my bed, ready to snuggle until we're both asleep. 

Crystal

That's our usual routine...unless the coyotes start howling like they did last night. I let both the "little girls" stay out while I worked my three hour evening shift at the store. I came home with dinner, so although I checked the porch right before dark (finding no cats), they stayed out while we ate.

Handsome and I like to watch/play Jeopardy after dinner, so we were watching the show, when I heard the coyotes start howling, and they. were. close! Now that the north field is cut, they are free to run without negotiating the cornstalks. Everything is visible to them, so they're on the hunt from treeline to treeline.

I'm never sure how far the little girls range, but Claudette usually pops out of the rockwall in our front yard when I call for her. Sometimes Crystal hangs out in the compass barn in search of mice. But I know that once they hear those 'yotes, they're anxious to come in. Last night was no exception.

Once the coyotes lit up, I immediately got up and went to the front door. All I had to do was turn on the porch light and open the door. Two cats came bolting for the door with all their fur fluffed up...Crystal leading the way. Neither of them wanted anything to do with the nighttime interlopers.

Crystal ran right up the stairs and jumped on my bed, while Claudette preferred to hop on the sofa to be close to Bella. She licked Bella's ear and settled in nearby. They both went for their comfort zones. Safe and sound inside.

Claudette wasn't feeling photogenic after that, but Crystal was more than happy to pose for pictures. They both settled in for the night. After I have my morning coffee and feed them, they'll be ready to venture out again for a while. Until it happens again.

We suspect Miss Carly is about to be in heat, so that may be sooner and closer than any of us likes. Evening air out sessions will be with dogs on leads, a flashlight and at least a whistle to deter any critter that might decide to investigate. I like to coexist with nature whenever possible, but there are limits, so we'll do our non-lethal best to keep dogs, cats and wildlife in their own lane. I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

Tuesdays With Tag - Meep! Meep!...

 

 Hi, Everybody!

No photo of me today. Nope. I want you to see that one of the shy locals was visible this weekend. I was in the livin' room with Bella and Mom when Boo looked out the window and started a low growl. Whew! It wasn't directed at me for a change.

Mom stood up behind Bella to see "Wile E" saunterin' across our north field. Mom put her hand on Bella and said we should just quietly watch, so although Boo made chuffin' noises, she didn't bark and alarm the visitor.

He (or she. Who can tell from these pictures?) would stop to sniff at the ground, look around, and then keep goin' toward our east tree line. We figure it was lookin' for somethin' to eat, and it was really cool to watch. Don't worry. Claudette and Crystal are in the house these days.

Even so, Mom's been takin' us out at night on a leash. Just to keep us close and safe. She says she wouldn't want either of us gettin' into a scuffle. This one was healthy and large for a coyote. 

Another one got hit on the highway near our house about ten days ago. It was right in the middle of the roadway, and as Mom was drivin' toward it (we were with her), she noticed cars and trucks were really swervin' to avoid somethin'. She pulled over, put on our flashers, checked to make sure there was no traffic, and pulled the body into the ditch so no other critters (lookin' to clean it up) or people would get hurt. It had a beautiful winter coat, and Mom was sad that it was killed. When she came back to the car, I was pretty curious about her hands, but she had Wet Wipes in the car and got its scent off her hands. She said it's just not right for vehicles to be part of the Circle of Life. 

So, she was really happy to see this healthy canid, and we all like hearin' them howl to their pack at night. It's comfortin' to know that there's still a place for the wild things outside.

I'll see you again in seven. 'til then... 

"Be A Good Dog."

Yesterday's Visitor...

Brynwood Needleworks - A Visitor At The Farm - Coyote

Handsome and I were drinking coffee and visiting first thing yesterday morning when he looked out the window past me and asked if I could see the deer in the north field. I got up and looked out the window, and said, "I'm not sure that's a deer.". Then I went and grabbed my binoculars for a closer look.

 

As I was looking through the binocs, he said he thought I was right. Further investigation revealed a beautiful coyote. We watched it for quite a while as it snuffled and frolicked in the field. Bella sat (mostly) quiet (occasionally uttering a low growl) the whole time. (Of course, I had to sneak out onto the porch to get a picture to share with you, too!)

 

After a few minutes, Mr. Coyote moved across the field and into the tree line to spend the rest of the day expoloring as they do. I'll be looking at the trail cam today to see if our visitor decided to stop by the Habitat for a bite to eat before moving on. 

How wonderful that we have such a variety of wildlife moving through the neighborhood. There's room for everyone here. All the critters have a purpose, and I like that we can move around each other without the need to hurt them. The older I get, the more I appreciate the pure acts of seeing and enjoying. Another blessing from the farm.

An Interesting Visitor...

Brynwood Needleworks - The Habitat

 

This is what "The Habitat" looks like on our property this year. This is where we take all our yard waste - grass clippings, fallen branches, and leaves - when we're working outdoors. After the new porch was built, I had to rethink the feeding station, as we didn't want the critters coming up onto the concrete. This seemed like a good alternative...away from the house, and of course, the dogs. 

 

Adding more clippings this year helped cover up the little tunnels and cubbies that the opossums and chipmunks seem to favor. I imagine them sleeping warm and dry when winter finally takes hold.

I added the covered feeder that the largest opossum, "Biggie" marked as his own last winter. I decided to raise it up on a small barrel planter to further keep the contents dry when the snows arrive.

I've been taking down birdseed that the bluejays and cardinals (and chipmunks) can enjoy now. I've also taken down a few treats to see whether or not the opossums were still coming around. (They are!)

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Late Night Visitor

Since turning the trail cam on again (and finding that I'm still having issues with the camera! grrrr), I've managed to capture three opossums (Biggie, Ralph and Squirt); two raccoons (although there may be more, only two come in at a time); and...this elusive visitor!

I have the date and time set on my camera. This young coyote was photographed once, and by the time a minute had passed for the next photo, it had left. Minutes later, the opossums were back in frame.

Last summer I was thrilled to catch a deer on the camera, and this year, a coyote. We heard them all summer, sometimes quite close, but in spite of the fact that I had the camera out, I never saw one on the camera...until now. Interesting was the fact that we never heard the pack that night. Just this curious loner stopping by.

I'm going to have to find out what's wrong with my camera, but I've still got it out because even a bad picture is better than nothing. I may need a new camera, and if that's the case, it sure won't be a Browning model again. (Remember all the grief this one gave me within the first month I had it? It was a gift from Handsome for Christmas, and was nothing but trouble. He was so upset! I finally got a new replacement from the company. Here we go again.)

For now, I'm going to download my images every day to see what other wondrous critters stop over for a visit. I'm like a kid, nearly giddy when I see each and every one of them. I'll be sure to share more as I capture new - or returning - faces.

Our Moonlight Tango...

Today, Handsome and I went to Ikea in Tampa. I'd been to an Ikea store in Minnesota with my sister a few years ago, and Handsome and I had ordered from their website when we first moved here, but we had yet to shop one of their stores together. Ikea recently opened the Tampa store and we knew that we were going to have to make a shopping date soon. Today was the day.

About twenty years ago, we were in an art gallery in Chicago and came upon the work of an artist named Marcus Pierson. We immediately fell in love with his work and purchased a piece called "Moonlight Tango". His art is whimsical and features, of all things, coyotes as his main theme. You may ask why I tell you this in conjunction with a story about shopping at Ikea today. Let me explain.

We had trekked through about three quarters of the Ikea store today when we entered the lighting department. We looked at hanging lamps, floor lamps and lamps of all shapes and sizes when right before me was the lamp! All I could think of was how perfect this lamp would be to illuminate "Moonlight Tango". I showed the "Stranne" lamp to Handsome, first to see his reaction to it in its own right, and then to see what he thought of my idea to light our sculpture.

He started to smile and agreed it would be perfect. Alright! Score a new lamp for our living room! Bonus that it would be used to accent a piece of art that has made us smile since we purchased it all those years ago.

I should also tell you that for years I resisted Modern Scandinavian design by simply saying that I thought it was cold and without character. My mind was cracked wide open about two years ago when we stopped into a Copenhagen Imports store in Sarasota. I fell in love with the natural, organic look and feel of teak and leather. I couldn't believe I had been so utterly wrong about what the Scandinavian artisans and designers had to offer - to say nothing of the comfort and clean appearance of the pieces.

We have refurnished our living room and dining room with this understated, elegant furniture and I look forward to the day when other rooms in our home will be converted to this design esthetic. In the meantime, we'll add a piece here and a piece there to that end. Perhaps there will even be another Pierson to add more of his whimsical, joyful touch to our dwelling!