Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

Truthfully, it is my dog who is the real naturalist in the family. He ferrets out the cool stuff, but due to that slight drawback of not being able to speak, or type for that matter, can't pass it on to you. That's where I come in with my nimble fingers and do my best to translate what we both saw. He knows for sure what it was, I do my best to guess. Today though, we agree on our analysis. "Hassenfeffer" was on the menu last night for one fortunate coyote and one not so fortunate rabbit.

I hadn't planned to walk around the furthest cranberry bog until I noticed that Tuck was nose to the ground and not leaving, but snurfing this way and that. When I got there, tufts of gray fur, some tinged with longer black brown hairs and then the telltale white fluff of a tail, made it clear this was a rabbit, preferred but not easy to catch item on both the coyote and foxes menu. Owl and hawk too, but here the diner had graciously left a calling card. A wonderful, large scat that cinched it as coyote. Ah, here is where I should have a picture, those with time on their hand, google"coyote scat" and see what you get. [I added a wikipedia/google link to the right of this page so you could all do just that. Don't forget to right click on it to open it in either a new tab or a new window so you will still have the blog open. - Laura] They are omnivores, eating both plants and animals, not carnivores as so many think, so the pictures could be varied.

This scat was full of hair and bones but ended in a twist of grass. Often they contain grass and it makes me wonder if that is a coyotes Metamucil. But I am happy when I see they have had a decent meal. Remember, as I often tell the children, he can't just waltz up to Burger King and say Super size me, no he has to catch it. In the middle of winter I often find scats that have nothing but grass and bits of wood and sometimes stones. Something just to stop the hunger? Perhaps.

But it is great to see coyote evidence back at the bog. It seems they had been missing for some time, and perhaps the pups are already born and more food is needed. And shall we review how many rabbits can come into the world over one breeding season? That would be about 30 a year, over 4litters. And that is because they ARE on everybody's menu. At any rate, I took some of the "sheared" fur back with me to share with my ladies on the walk. Amazing how it looks as though they had their own set of Fiskars with them.

So, thank you Tuck, for allowing me to write about something a little cooler than the spore stalks some of the moss are sending up, although you know they will be featured some other time. Oh boy Pat, the excitement mounts!Spore stalks!

Have a great day everyone.
Pat