Into the Wild

Okay, so remember how awhile back, I did a post dedicated to the best movie that has ever been made, Harry and the Hendersons? In that post (if you don't feel like reading it), I talked about how there is so much nature that we don't see, and how I always see animal tracks at the Nature Park, but never see the animals. Well, I know where they hide now- in our backyard.

As you've probably gathered (or as you probably already know because you know me and that is why you are reading this), part of my daily routine is getting Molly out for a good walk. We usually do two walks, but if we have the opportunity, we'll do one super long one, usually at the Nature Park, or along the trails near our house. These walks have become one of my favourite things, and I was so looking forward to a summer full of them. In referencing another past post, I did a photo blog a couple weeks ago, detailing an amazing adventure Molly and I went on one morning. It was so much fun, and I could not wait to do it again. Fast forward to now- Molly and I have been doing lame sidewalk/subdivision walks for the past week or more, out of fear that we will get eaten by large, scary, monster animals. Okay, not really, but we have been avoiding the trails out of fear.

It's out there...

 It all began two Saturdays ago, when I was leaving the graveyard and a woman stopped me to tell me there had been a coyote sighting in the area. Yikes! She advised me to carry a whistle with me when I was out walking, just in case. I don't consider myself a paranoid person, and usually I would brush this sort of thing off. However, a couple things set off a mental alarm in my head: 1) The woman ended our conversation with "A coyote would love to get a piece of that dog", and then looked at Molly. Thanks lady. 2) Animals are out there, they always have been. However, there are less wooded areas for them now, and that means less food. So they obviously need to leave the woods to find what they need to survive- Beagles and Beagle owners, of course.

A couple nights later, I was sitting in my living room, when I saw an animal scurry across the church parking lot behind our house. I quickly got up and ran to the window. Most nights, we see a fox we named Peter run through, but this animal was different. It was darker, and ran pretty fast. Coyote, Clinton told me. Gah!

Last Saturday, Clinton told me that after dropping me off at a friend's house, he came home to find Peter the fox screeching at the sweet little dog that lives across the street from us. He said it was making an awful noise, and the neighbours had to whip rocks at him to make him leave. Sheesh- why would Peter do such a thing? He's always seemed so nice when scurrying into the church parking lot and peeing in their flowers, and then prancing off again. But not anymore- Peter's hungry for white, fluffy dogs...or a Beagle? Nah...maybe? No.

Later on, around 1am Clinton tells me, Molly started barking at something out the back window- towards the church parking lot. When Clinton got up and wiped his tears from watching Marley and Me with Molly (why anyone would make themselves suffer like that is beyond me), he saw not one, not two, but three coyotes. Holy moly! Friends, I am terrified. Molly and I are suburban walkers now, and it is soooo boring. I miss the trails, but I think every time a squirrel scurried across the path now, I would be blowing the whistle Clinton gave me "just in case".  I mean, look at this insanity:

"Molllllllyyyyyyyyy!!!!!"

Am I being foolish? Should I continue to be enjoying nature with my dog? I know that coyotes and fox have always been around, and I also know that it's not as though I'm walking around with a chihuahua, but I also know that coyotes have actually attacked people before, and also that my dog (as sweet as she is) is so friendly and playful that she would probably run at one, tongue hanging out like Odie, begging to be attacked. Peter doesn't scare me so much, but those dang coyotes...I feel that they would be like bullies, stronger in numbers. My whistle might not do it. Seriously, take me back to the part of the city with no woods around it...I'll take the traffic over the crazy animals.