They are here, in recent years past, seemingly thick, listening at dusk and throughout the night.
This year, I don't seem to notice them as much, signs are here, but the howling is non-existent.
During archery, I saw one of the largest ones I can recall. Several years back, maybe 10 or so, I saw one bed down around 9am one morning in a sunny spot with some grass and small trees for cover, in the open. I was by the house, up on the hill, and have quiet trails that lead down to where he was, so I snuck down and got right up too him, literally stood over this coyote and waited for him to notice me, it took a little while, it was priceless to see the reaction, one look, he jumped up and tore off through the corn, I could hear him from a distance. Was probably not the smartest move, but I had the drop on him and the fear in his eyes while he scrambled to get up was incredible. Using that for scale, this one was not very large, nor was the last one I shot in '10. The one I saw this fall was one large healthy dog, with an agenda to observe my field, having observed him enter the field, carefully look around, then use the perimeter to get to the high spot, where he sat and scanned for the better part of a 1/2 hour.
At this point, I carry a rifle when taking a walk, every time, as so many times I have seen and had shots at them, but was unarmed. When they get this big, howl to call each other in, like I have seen, I do not trust them. If there was not so much prey around here for them, or scavenge-able food, there is no doubt they would be dangerous.
If you have ever squared off with a vicious dog, or have had one sink its teeth into your flesh, which has happened 3 times in my life, it results in a hardline stance. We had wild dogs that took over an old farm at the end of what used to be a dirt road here way back when, and they were a nasty bunch, almost killed a horse, that they ran into a fence, it took years to kill all of them off. I counted over 30 at this place, not including cannibalized dead, with collars. Horse had a big chunk of flesh, flapped over, nasty recovery, and a lot of work/care to save her.
One of the things I recall about this was the rural status of the area here, its not like that any more. Abandoned farms do not exist, town had no means to deal with it. You travel up that dirt road to that place you took your life in your hands. I went their once with my german short haired pointer, who had an attitude toward anyone or anything that would do you harm. I wanted to see the old buildings, barns etc, and I walked into a building, and it was a trap with a snarling, mangy looking good size dog that was watching over a dead one. First dead one I ever saw, I was still quite young, but loved exploring the areas around our farm. The fear in my mind was overcome by carefully backing away, and getting the heck away from this place. My dog somehow prevented harm, had I been alone it would not have been good. I should have never gone there, remembering riding up that road in the back of the old '66 f100, all these dogs in chase, if you fell off that truck, be the same as being tossed in with alligators !
Well, I've gone astray with that story, I try and leave nature alone, but when it comes to these coyotes which did not exist here for a long time, I sometimes think back about the above and will shoot one if given the chance. Seems the rabbits do well with all the cover, turkey flock is over 40 this year, they have been in my yard, even the grouse seem to do fine, I always see them, we have no pheasants, years back they were real thick.
