INTO THE DARKNESS...THEY'RE HERE!

I like to walk daily, just 20 minutes in the early morning before moms with their kiddies walk through the door, which this time of the year means walking in the dark. Although it sometimes requires a lot of effort to leave the coziness of my  bed, once past the thresh hold I always enjoy the exercise, the fresh air and the quiet stillness of the early hours...the morning belongs to me.

I have never really been bothered by the dark, except for being nervous of the possibility of a sudden run in with a skunk. As for encounters with the two legged persuasion, I've always been able to dismiss my fear by telling myself... what would anyone want with an old thing like me... even though I know that someone in that frame of mind is probably not going to be very picky.

Three winters ago, while cross country skiing on my own, I  witnessed  several hawks, at least seven,  feasting on a deer carcass on a frozen pond.  While in awe of the size and wing span of these birds and their majestic beauty as they soared above my head and swooped down to feed, I felt immense sadness for the fate of the deer, brought down by what I  now believe were coyotes. The hawks were just helping them self to the leftovers...the way of the wild.

Picture found at at free-extras.com.

The death of singer/songwriter Taylor Mitchell in Oct. .2009 by two coyotes while hiking on Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, and all the talk that followed caused me some concern but did not interrupt my routine, after all...that happened in Cape Breton, not my back yard...as long as I didn't allow my mind to wonder to the "what if's" I was fine.

But a  recent conversation with an elderly uncle who just happens to be an avid hunter has opened my eyes. He was lamenting the fact that he didn't bag a deer this year due to what he believes is the increasing coyote population..."there are no deer or rabbits around this year he says."  I too had been noticing the lack of deer or rabbit tracks in our neck of the woods, something always plentiful in the past...but there are plenty of other "dog like" tracks around.

... and then there are the daily accounts in the news  of  "run ins"  with aggressive coyotes.

..so perhaps it is time to be afraid.. to be very afraid...

...they are here, 

...and I am now afraid of walking alone in the dark.

...especially down over the hill which is bordered on each side by deep woods.

...but I have not given up my walks

...I am just better prepared.

I have always made it a habit of wearing a safety vest for visibility and carried a  small flashlight to light  my footpath, but I now carry a larger, brighter flashlight which I am constantly shinning  into the edge of the woods, fields and orchard looking for any signs. I also carry a whistle to hopefully scare away any animals.

...and something I never thought I would ever do...

I'm packing a weapon

...just in case the whistle doesn't work!

OF HAWKS AND EAGLES

Last evening while out for our walk, my husband and I saw a bald eagle flying above us. Just last week I had watched one from my front window, soaring above the apple orchard across the road from our home. The sun was shining and its white head seemed to sparkle and gleam. I watched it circle several times before it flew out of sight.
Bald eagles are plentiful about five minutes drive from here ever since some farmers started throwing out carcasses for feed several years ago. In fact, it has become a big winter attraction around here...the "Eagle Watch" in Steam Mill but we don't usually see them this close to our home.

Hawks, we see fairly often but I still have to stop whatever I'm doing to watch them glide over head. One day last winter I was cross country skiing when I when I came upon an amazing scene. I was just approaching a couple of ponds when I noticed several hawks circling above me and then landing on the pond to my left. As I watched at least 7 or 8 swooped low and then landed to feed off some sort of carcass on the ice. I watched in amazement for several moments before turning around and back tracking wishing all the while that my daughters were there with me and that my husband had gone with me (he doesn't enjoy skiing as much as me and sometimes it takes some prodding to get him to go...his idea of exercise is eating and ...well ...that other thing...men!!!)...oh, well, you snooze you loose. He did go with me the next day in hopes of a repeat show, but there was no sign of a hawk anywhere. We did go out onto the ice to see what they had feasted on and it was definitely a deer... the bones picked clean. There were other animal tracks in the snow...not sure what they were...but some other animal had made the kill and the hawks were only helping themselves to the leftovers and nothing was wasted. We sure could learn a lot from the animal kingdom.