Just call me Marlin

It’s very common to look out the windows around Woodhaven and see a bit of wildlife. Bunnies and deer are most common. So much so that we have gone to moderate lengths to discourage them from dining on our roses, tulips, corn, lettuce, tomatoes, peas, and of course, grapes. Coyotes also make frequent appearances, howling and trotting from one side of the yard to the next. Funny, there seems to be an inverse relationship between the number of bunnies versus coyotes. Last year was a bunny year. This year is shaping up to be a coyote year.

A couple years ago, we saw a bobcat a few times. It was gorgeous. We’ve also found bear droppings (“skat” to you more rugged people). Not quite so gorgeous. And our neighbor spotted a cougar on our driveway not long after we moved in. So, yes, when I take my walks about, I do carry pepper spray and try to remember to look large and intimidating. It’s obviously working since I have yet to encounter a bear or a cougar on my walks down to visit Licking Cow.

This week, I’ve been feeling like I need to be wearing a long yellow skirt with a blue puffy-sleeved blouse. Like Snow White in the forest, we’ve been visited by lots of critters recently. One molting fawn keeps eating our grass in the mid-afternoon. A coyote trotted quite intently from west to east the other day while Rob and I were Wiiing. Bunnies keep darting out across the driveway and lawn as we come and go. But a few days ago, while talking on the phone and looking out the window, I gasped.

There, floating so elegantly over our cleared hill was a bald eagle. We had heard rumors that a pair has a nest a few miles away. Bright white head and tail feathers, I had no doubt what I was looking at. It was so close, I could see its eyes. It glided in a big swoop around our property and then disappeared into some trees. It was truly breathtaking. God, I love it here.