Okay, so I don’t really have a farm story for you today, but I read an interesting article online.
Now, I can’t watch horror movies. I watched one when I was in high school and I think I looked under my bed and in my closet every night until I turned 35 or so. I’m kidding a little about that, mostly.
Anyway, the article I read was entitled “The Animal that is Most Likely to Kill You in Each State.”
So, for some reason, I have zero interest in horror movies, but that title grabbed my attention almost as fast as chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Almost.
Would you believe a bobcat is one of the animals listed for a New England state? Maybe it was Vermont.
If you live in Nebraska or Minnesota a COW is the most dangerous animal in your state. Not even kidding. Actually, that one made sense, because I think every farmer knows, or knows of, someone who has been killed while working cattle. Usually by bulls. But cows are big and strong and when they have a baby or when they’re scared, they can be pretty dangerous.
So, in PA and VA, the two states where I spend most of my time, dogs are the most dangerous animals.
I found out that the brown recluse spider is so prevalent in Tennessee that it is almost certain that every house has at least one. I also didn’t realize Black Widow spiders are the most dangerous “animal” in Rhode Island. Who knew?
Of course Grizzly bears are the top animal for several western states, but the one that really surprised me was the coyote. We have them around here. I hear them yipping at night and kind of like listening to them. But the article said that coyotes can be dangerous because they’re susceptible to rabies. And, of course, if one in a pack gets it, it can spread through the entire pack and that could end up being a dangerous situation.
So, by the time I was done reading the article these were the animals I was most afraid of:
#2 Grizzly bears
#1 Coyotes
So, I did some things and went outside to take a walk. When we’re not working cattle or doing anything strenuous on the farm, I like to try to walk a few miles.
So, I’m about four hundred yards away from the house when I hear this noise that I realize, after straining to listen for a few minutes, must be coyotes. They’re kind of far away. But I just read that article…
I think about turning around. I have no weapon and I never take any of our dogs with me because I go too far away from the house and I don’t want them leaving the farm.
Then I decide that’s dumb. I walk almost every day and I’ve never had a problem. Except coyotes aren’t usually out during the day – I hear them a lot after the sun goes down.
This noise doesn’t quite sound like coyotes that I usually hear, but…if coyotes have rabies, do they make a different noise? The article didn’t say. I need articles that give ALL the information, not just enough to scare a person.
Anyway. I keep walking and I must be walking toward them because the noise is getting louder. I get to a place where there are young pine trees on one side of me and an open pasture on the other. It sounds like the coyotes are in the pines. Maybe coming toward me. Or maybe that’s just my (very good, because I write fiction, after all) imagination.
No. I can hear them quite plainly, although it’s not the yapping I’m used to. It sounds more…fervent. Excited. Maybe they smell me. Maybe I smell like lunch.
So, I’m thinking about climbing trees. The article didn’t say, but I don’t think coyotes can climb trees. It’s been years since I’ve climbed one, but I’m pretty sure I can remember how. Especially if I’m running from a pack of coyotes.
Then I hear gunshots. Four of them. After the gunshots the noise dies away a bit. I realize it’s hunting season down here in VA. Up in PA there isn’t much hunting done with dogs, but it’s a real thing down here. After I think that, I figure out that the noise must have been hunting dogs…chasing? Treeing? What do you call it?
Anyway. The noise was hunting dogs, not rabid coyotes thinking they were going to have a nice snack of author.
Alright, thanks for spending time with me today!
Hugs and love,
~Jessie