In lieu of yesterdays blog post regarding our dog being attacked, I thought I would post a few photos I have taken of coyotes near our home.
This is one of my favourites because it is looking at me
Caught a scent
Coyote stand-off
So back in October we had an “incident” which made me question living in the country. At moments I am still somewhat shaken by what happened many months later so I thought I would share my experience.
First of all, you should meet our little dog Daisy. We got her about 6 years ago from a family who didn’t want her anymore. She lived in a little house with a little yard which I don’t think she had ever been out of because when we got her, she was covered in her own feces and she didn’t even know she was able to run. We had to teach her how to play as well. Basically she was a depressed little dog with a lot of love in her which was unleashed by our little family and country life.
Yup, she is a cutie – but then again I am a little biased 🙂
Daisy knows she is small and vulnerable when it comes to the numerous wild animals and birds who also share her surroundings, so she is pretty careful not to go far and keeps at our side when we are out walking. As you can imagine, we don’t put her out when it is dark and if she really is desperate, we let her out on the water side of the house and make noise first and turn on the flood lights for her to scare any critters away. This time was different though. It was 5 am and still very dark. My husband was getting ready for work and Daisy was doing the tap-dance and her eyeballs were floating so without a second thought, out she went. Moments later, her screams (like none heard before) let us know she was in serious trouble. My husband ran barefoot and in his underwear blindly into the brisk, black morning toward her cries and retrieved her relatively intact (the hubby was also intact in case you were wondering). As I am sure you can guess by the title, she had been attacked by a coyote!  Daisy was in shock and had punctures on both sides as well as in her chest which pulled the skin away from muscle and also tore muscle in her shoulders, but with the help of a neighbour vet/friend as well as some emergency care, IV, heavy painkillers, antibiotics and a hefty vet bill, she has made a full recovery. Mind you her pride is a little hurt since she now requires bodyguards when she is outside.
Here she is waiting to see the vet
Here are all the lovely meds she was on
She spent more than a week not wanting to leave her crate 😦
Note the punctures from the coyote’s teeth
Starting to feel better but chose other “safe” places to hang out  like in the girl’s dollhouse.
Back to normal and getting spoiled as usual and loving it!
Battle scars – such a toughie.
I grew up on a farm in the country and never had to many fears of nature but I suppose ignorance is bliss. Now that I am a mom and trying to be “responsible” I have developed concerns. My main fear when I moved here were the bears. We had a territorial one who, days after we moved in, climbed our 5 ft deck, put its rump against our door and left us a nice little parcel on our doorstep (but that is another story). Yes, bears were my biggest concern and coyotes were not really much of a thought. I have seen them frequently close to our house and take down deer on the lake so I  always knew we had to watch out for our dog, but when something actually happened, it shook me to the core. My first instinct was to find the coyote and shoot it. How could a creature that would do something so violent be allowed to be out there lurking with the potential to attack again? It was when I had to explain to my daughters why a coyote would do this that helped me put things into perspective. I told them the coyote has to eat and coyotes eat meat. The coyote doesn’t know Daisy is a loved pet, it just sees food and maybe it hasn’t eaten for many days and is very hungry. A coyote has to eat just like we do. Nature can sometimes be cruel but it is the natural balance that has to occur in order for life to exist. Actually, I have told them this many times when they see how cruel nature can be, whether it is a snapping turtle eating a gosling, a snake eating a frog, a pack of coyotes cornering a deer. As gruesome and cruel as it seems, it is just, well, natural.
I will end with this photo I took a couple of years ago. Whenever I think of that beast in the dark night that attacked Daisy, I try to think of this image. A beautiful creature who can miraculously thrive independently in the wild.
It has been a busy weekend with the Easter Bunny’s visit and the chocolate-induced hyperactivity that ensued. To get out some of the beans we decided to go for a walk/bike out the lane and down the road. Our neighbour had called the night before to ask if we could help with clearing some of the culverts which the local beavers have crammed full with all sorts of good stuff and as a result are threatening to flood our lane.
Here we go.
The girls watching their dad at work.
nice
Since my husband decided to wear my work jacket, I had no choice but to let him do all the heavy work while I made sure the girls didn’t fall in the drink and get sucked through the culverts. I also got a little snap-happy. This photo I call “Clump of Lump” (Ok, so I read a little Dr. Seuss this morning).
“Clump of Lump With Surrounding Environs”.
Self portrait.
Yet another dam.
Yet another culvert to clear.
Leading to the lake.
Look at the exploded cattail!
Watch it float!
Finally, I will end with some pics I took of beavers from a year or so ago. This little guy swam by in the rain.
I got quite close to this one and managed to snap this photo until it noticed me and…
…slapped it’s tail on the water both splashing me and scaring me half to death with the noise of the slap! I guess it is poetic justice for dismantling it’s masterpieces.
I recently came across these photos from 2 Easters ago. I thought they were just from last year until I looked at the date. Wow, how time flies! When people tell you your children will grow up so fast, they are telling the truth!
The girls are really looking forward to the Easter Bunny’s visit tonight. It is nice they are still young enough to experience the magic.
Our old front door (before the reno)
The Easter bunny found its way into the playhouse…
…and left a few surprises
Poor, unfortunate bunny.
It has been a stunning morning on the lake. Here are a few pics from about an hour ago. Ice is almost gone!!
I wouldn’t call myself much of a gardener but I do LOVE gardens and have a few little gardens around. A couple of years ago I started a vegetable garden as well and am amazed at the gratification that comes from growing and eating my own food. The kids love it too. They wander in the vegetable garden and ask (wide-eyed) “you mean we can eat anything in here?” They help me plant and weed it which, in turn helps them to love eating veggies 🙂
Here is the vegetable garden when we first began it
Then we had to make a fence to keep the deer and other critters away
Kids in the garden
 
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Last night I was returning from the grocery store (where the air conditioning was on) and found myself swerving for frogs on the road, watching white rabbits scatter frantically unamused their cover was blown, and arrived home to the full chorus of spring peepers. Is this March?!
Hard to believe about a month ago we had 20″ of ice. Here, I was skiing on the lake while pulling my 5 year old on her sleigh when I came across this deer carcass frozen in the ice.
I also snapped this pic and later noticed my daughter looking like she thinks she may be a little to close to the creepy thing in the ice! 
I shutter to think about what happened to the poor thing and hope it didn’t suffer much. It sparked lots of conversation later with my daughter. The kids learn a lot about the cycle of life and death when living in the country.
Anyway, I began with these 3 photos to make a point, and that being this is how the lake looks today,
and about 2 days ago.
I have a feeling the ice may completely be gone by Friday if not tomorrow already which is about one month ahead of the usual annual thaw. I must admit I am LOVING the weather but also a little leery about what this means for the lake and the summer ahead.
homeonalake 