T'was the night before Thanksgiving, and I was dog tired. We had had a big day of farm book work and had just sat down to dinner. I had just put my lips to my wine glass for a slow soothing sip of merlot, when Bill jumped out of his chair announcing he needed Parmesan cheese for his spaghetti. Then both Duncan and Felicity became alive from their passed out repose on the couch and raced to the door barking like only small dogs can do. If I was an old lady with severe hearing loss, it would be a perfect arrangement but alas.....it's not.....a perfect arrangement. So Bill let them out into the night and proceeded to the garage to get the cheese from the freezer. Both little dogs raced by the dining window barking and spinning out in the gravel, and I said to myself, "God, I hope a coyote gets them" as I finally took a sip of wine.
All of a sudden as if on cue, I heard one of the dogs cry out in a shrill scream and then the other one. Fortunately, I was still in my exercise garb including my GT-2110 Asics running shoes. I knew it was up to me alone to save the dogs since Bill was buried in a freezer looking for cheese. I flew out the door, and as I was running I heard a coyote call out by the chicken coop. Thanks to my Asics, I was notably fleet of foot and nimble as I ran down the stairs and jumped onto the lawn. I saw Felicity half way to the lawn, and she was fine. My land speed increased as I passed her and hit the lawn looking for Duncan. I quickly realized this was pointless since I was in a complete blackout. Then he silently trotted up to me. The three of us high tailed it to the basement door where we discovered we were locked out. I beat on the door hoping Bill had found his cheese and would be available again.
Eventually, he came down totally mystified as to why everyone had disappeared and then reappeared in the basement. I explained the drama, and we both stared at Duncan as he stood shaking. I found a scratch on his back that was brand new. Evidence of the attack! Poor Dunky. We applied some antibacterial spray to Dunk's scratch, and I put a coyote survivor scarf on him.
I know you want to see his scratch..... OK, I'll show you.
Duncan is a Bichon so he has tender skin.
T'was the morning of Thanksgiving and Bill and I had a to do list that was a mile long. We were hosting the dinner, so there was no time to waste. I cranked the Marvin Gaye Pandora station and began jiving as I cleaned house, peeled potatoes, and made stuffing. Bill started smoking the turkey, making dinner rolls, cleaning windows and taking pictures of squirrels.
See I'm not even kidding.
The secret to Bill's efficiency was tucking all of his supplies in his overalls and strategic window choice as he worked outside cleaning windows. He did the kitchen windows as he baked his rolls, so he could see them when he directed me to open the oven door. He did have to out-shout Marvin Gaye or knock on the window to get my attention.
Finally, most everything was done.
Guests were due to arrive in a few minutes, so I told Bill it was time to get cleaned up. He got ready to head up for a shower. I was looking out my clean windows marveling at all the sights that I could see through a clean window, then I saw this!
Do you see the coyote in the middle of the picture? He was back in our yard in the middle of the day!
Bill had already dropped his overalls, but that didn't slow him down. He armed himself and headed out into the yard. I said, "Don't hurt him!" He just looked at me. In my mind, I had to make a choice...
This.....
Or this....
So I didn't stop him.
Bill's a very good shot, so it didn't end well for the coyote. I helped Bill dispose of him and thanked him, but I still felt bad for the coyote. All of this was done in a matter of minutes. As you can see Bill still has his slippers on. He didn't have to remove much to shower, so he was ready by the time our guests arrived.
And that's how we "get 'er done on the farm!"
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