Wildlife Invades Coyote Ridge This Week

This has been a big week here at Coyote Ridge. Now that spring has sprung, the wild critters are out in full force.
In the past week we have seen seven coyotes,eight deer,one woodchuck and four turkeys. I am not even counting the squirrels that seem to be eating our door frames.
I did catch a picture of a turkey out the shop window this morning.

This week I went out to check on my trail camera and brought it in. Even with new batteries, the LCD screen does not work. It is under warranty so I will send it back for repair or replacement.

Honoring The Coyote

These are such beautiful animals. Out of respect for them, and the abundance of them here on our property, we named our homestead in their honor.
Sue's brother, Bob, sent this amazing story.

This one is pretty hard to believe, but the pictures pretty much say it all.


Meet the wiliest of all coyotes: Hit by a car at 75mph, embedded in the fender,road for 600 miles - and SURVIVED!
When a brother and sister struck a coyote at 75mph they assumed they had killed the animal and drove on.
They didn't realize this was the toughest creature ever to survive a hit-and-run.
Eight hours, two fuel stops, and 600 miles later they found the wild animal embedded in their front fender - and very much alive.
Daniel and Tevyn East were driving at night along Interstate 80 near the Nevada-Utah border when they noticed a pack of coyotes near the roadside on October 12.
When one of the animals ran in front of the car, the impact sounded fatal so the siblings thought there no point in stopping.
'Right off the bat, we knew it was bad,' Daniel explained. 'We thought the story was over.'


After the incident around 1am, they continued their 600 mile drive to North San Juan - even stopping for fuel at least twice.
But it was only when they finally reached their destination at 9am did they take time to examine what damage they may have sustained.
At first it looked as though it was going to be quite gruesome.
'[Daniel] saw fur and the body inside the grill,' Tevyn East said. 'I was trying to keep some distance. Our assumption was it was part of the coyote - it didn't register it was the whole animal.'
Daniel East got a broom to try and pry the remains out of the bumper and got the shock of his life.
'It flinched,' Tevyn East said. 'It was a huge surprise - he got a little freaked out.'





'We knew it was bad': Tevyn East, who was in the car when it hit the coyote, bends down to take a look at the fur poking through the fender


Fur Pete's sake: What Mr. East spotted as he bent down to inspect the damage to his car - the body of the coyote poking out through the radiator


Wily coyote: The animal's head can be seen as rescuers took apart the front fender to save it after it was struck by the car at 75mph



Miracle escape: As the animal struggled, wildlife protection officials put a loop around its neck to prevent it from further injuring itself

The front of the car is completely taken apart as the coyote begins to wriggle free


And voila! Tricky the toughest coyote ever rests in a cage after its ordeal - which it survived with just some scrapes to its paw


WOW!

Coyotes Attack and Kill....A Human

This is a very unulual story. We hold the coyote as an almost sacred animal and go out of our way not to harm them.
It sounds like these coyotes are too familiar with humans.
Coyotes Kill Canadian Folk Singer

This isolated attack incident will not change our mind about these beautiful animals who have adapted themselves over thousands of years, even as we continue to move into their habitat.

Fall Colors At Coyote Ridge

Today was a beautiful sunny day, the kind of weather that makes Fall such a nice time here in Minnesota. I spend about two hours on the tractor this morning chopping the leaves that had fallen the past week. By the end of the day today I am sure the ground will be covered again with leaves.

In the meantime, I have a few Fall pictures for you. As always, you can click on the pics for a larger view.

Our country lane leading back to Coyoter Ridge:


We are back in the woods completly out of sight of any gawkers that may be traveling the back country roads.














Highs in the low 60's and sunny....gotta love the Minnesota Fall!

The Deer Are Active!

With Fall upon us, the deer have been even more active than usual around Coyote Ridge. The trusty trail camera has been busy both night and day catching the four legged creatures snacking on whatever is available.
Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.

You may click on the pictures to enlarge them.






Now if we can just catch some shots of coyotes and cougars!

Look What The Trail Camera Caught!

The camera caught me red handed...red handed squirrel that is.


As always, you may click on the images to enlarge them.
After catching the squirrel (with bare hands of course) I snapped it's neck and deposited it's carcass in front of the camera.
The first visitor looked a bit curious.



Once dark set in, our normal visitors started coming out.


Then the party started.....


I have no idea what happened to the dead squirrel. We were in hopes that a coyote would venture into camera range and find a meal.

I will just have to grab another squirrel and see what happens tonight.

Stay tuned for another exciting tale on "Now What Are They Doing?"

A Minnesota Sunset

The other evening we had another beautiful sunset that just had to be captured somehow.
Sue grabbed the camera and collected some digital images from the back deck for all of us to enjoy.

Click on the picture if you would like a larger view.




With daylight rapidly fading away Sue clicked off a quick shot of the woods to our South from the same vantage point.


About a half hour after that picture was taken it was dark as night but as noisy as one could ever imagine.

The noise all started with one coyote letting out a howl. It was immediately followed by yips and howls from at least 40 more of the brush dogs who all seemed to be in competition with one another to see who could be the loudest.

It was indeed a concert to behold.

Tune in again soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"

Santa Is Still Here

While taking some pictures off the back deck the other day I spotted something unusual.

For some reason, Santa is still lurking around Coyote Ridge.


If he is waving and acting friendly hoping to get some Christmas cookies, he is out of luck as I polished off those suckers a LONG time ago.

I hope that he leaves soon as it is pretty freaky to look outside at any time of the day or night seeing him watching and waving.

So I guess the only options are to shoot him or not look outside.I opted for the non violent option and will fixate on something more soothing like the fireplace.


Now where are the marshmallows?

Tune in again soon for another edition of "Now What Are They Doing?"