EPISODE 162 WOODY AND THE COYOTES

alan skeoch

Nov.  2020

Woody is really  worried.  Not because he is afraid he will get bitten by a coyote  He wonders why I am on the other side of the fence.

Our lot was  once part of the Mississauga First Nation land.  As a  result it is

very unusual…deep…400 feet deep.   In addition long ago  Mary Fix donated

her lots and  forested lands to the City of Mississauga.  A creek in her name,

Mary Fix Creek weaves its way through those lands and  continues at the back

of  our lot.  All these lands are a natural wilderness where dead  logs and

underbrush are allowed to exist as if no human foot had ever tread the

ground.

A perfect habitat for wild things.  When we first moved  in back  in 1968 we had

visits from pheasants and deer and almost too many raccoons.  Today, 2020,

we get regular visits by a family of coyotes. Their colours and their movements

are not easy to see due to the verdant backdrop.

But Woody sees them.  He is not a barking dog.  Saves his voice  for 

coyote spotting.  Then he begins to holler.  This noisy habit may  have been

caused by a surprise he got while meeting a coyote last spring..

He is a very social dog   Loves others.  The coyote was not so loving and

sliced Woody on he bum.   Woody could not believe it had happened.  He  fled

and sought my protection.  I wondered why.  A neighbour saw the event and

reported Woody’s  flight.

So now we keep him fenced in the front part of  our lot and  let the coyotes

have the back part of the lot.  We coexist.  And that is OK with Woody. He

can bark an alert but the fence stops him from getting a  sliced

bum.

The coyotes successfully raised a family and we think the young coyotes

really just wanted to play with Woody.  But we cannot be sure of that.

We all manage  to get along in peace.  I hope the City of  Mississauga

sees the Mary Fix Park wilderness the same way we do.  We need some

wild  lands.   

Our garage and workshop was once  a mink house long, long ago.   For a few  years we raised  endangered chickens here…beautiful

Silver Laced Wyandottes.   One  easter the chickens even laid  coloured eggs…at least we believed that was so until Mr. Donovan, our

neighbour fessed  up.   I even made the mistake of  believing chickens and roosters should be  kept in equal numbers.  When the light

of the rising sun  hit our chicken coop those roosters made more noise than kids  at recess.  Eventually we only kept one rooster…Big

Red, a New Hampshire who serviced the whole coop.  Those  days are gone.

Our lot…looking towards the little hidden creek at the back.  I have spotted the coyotes here occasionally but have

to stare and stare and stare.

Looking towards  our house from the midway point of the wild  part of  the lot

Here is  Woody  at the fence.  He looks concerned, does  he not.  He fears a coyote is going to take a  slice of my bum.  He is

trying to warn me.

Bought this  old dump rake at the auction sale of Robin and Betty Craig who once farm the housing development on Highway 10 (Hurontario)

alan skeoch

Nov. 2020