Coyote Central

For a while it felt like Coyote Central around here. Right before we put the chickens on pasture we could hear the coyotes every single night, multiple times a night, howling and heckling and daring us to put our chickens outside at night. They seemed to be sitting right outside my window and all I could think about were my poor, defenseless chickens sitting like bait in their chicken tractors.

My father-in-law came to the rescue with a .22 rifle. He came from Oklahoma for a visit and brought his father's rifle and gave it to Hadley to reckon with the coyotes with. One problem solved. Sort of.

We still couldn't SEE anything. You don't want to shoot in the dark without being very clear what you're shooting at so I ordered a heavy duty 1 million candle power rechargeable light from Amazon. The first night we had the chickens outside was nerve wracking. The coyotes were carrying on and we had the gun but the spotlight hadn't arrived yet. Hadley slept on the sofa and Sadie was barking what seemed like every hour. My light was still a day away so, the next morning I drove into town (25 min. away so I rarely drive into town) and 5 hours later (it always takes longer than you plan...) I came home with a 3 million candlepower rechargeable spotlight, among other things. We were elated. The first couple of nights were exciting. The coyotes would bark and howl in the middle of the night, I'd fly out of bed, Hadley would grab the gun and we'd go outside, I being the designated light holder and Hadley the coyote hunter.

Nothing.

This went on for several nights until, finally, the howling died off. We didn't hear coyotes for days and I foolishly assumed that they went on to bigger and better poultry operations far, far away. I was wrong. They came back. The only problem now was that the weather was warmer, our windows were open, and when Sadie started barking, the coyotes stopped howling. Can we say that Hadley was not pleased with Sadie? I thought it was the ideal set up. Coyotes howl, dog barks, coyotes leave, everyone goes back to bed and no one has to throw on boots and go traipsing through the pitch black night in knee high rubber boots and a nightgown. Hadley, however, was by this time bent on "getting a coyote". I pointed out that the whole goal was to prevent the coyotes from getting the chickens but that didn't go over well with Hadley. This had gotten personal. He wanted a coyote.

Well fortunately for the chickens and the coyotes, the coyotes have continued to howl but have kept their distance. Unfortunately for Hadley, he has not "gotten" a coyote. He is outside now as I type, obsessively stalking the coyotes, probably staking out a spot on the other side of the dried up pond. I imagine he'll be back in within the half hour. That's okay. It's good for a boy to sit outside in the dark waiting for a coyote to make his day. It's an adventure with a good measure of hope mixed in.

We all need that now and then, don't you think?