323: Coyote Came Calling
Posted: August 12, 2011 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in Life, Air, Critters, Earth, Fire, home, nature, Photography, pond, Spirit, Summer, Walking, water, weather | Tags: Coyote, fog, Gardens, Gnomes, Holden Arboretum, nature, Photography, postaday2011, sunrise 38 Comments
Early morning view of the trees at the back of the pond
M and I had a new alarm wake us up early this morning. A coyote came calling right outside our bedroom window. We might not have heard him if it had been a warmer night with the windows closed and the air conditioning on. If you’ve never heard a coyote howling, you can listen (and watch) here. It was the first time I’ve heard one so clearly and closely. I had no doubt at all about what it was.
The howl is one the coyote’s most significant qualities. It is generally accepted to be primarily a social gesture. It can express loneliness, warn of danger, or call for assistance. It touches the soul of whoever hears, reminding us of our primal connections.
~ Ted Andrews
Since Coyote decided it was time for me to wake up, I put on my outdoor adventure clothing and shoes, and went outside just before sunrise for today’s walk. It was a gorgeous morning. Fog gathered around and over the pond, lifting upwards towards the sky, doing its dance from one side of the pond to the other. There was some ground fog in the neighbor’s yard as well, the pond fog drifting eastward for some lawn adventures.
The standing stone at sunrise on a misty morning
I can understand why Coyote thought it necessary to be up to see this sunrise. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The dew covered everything and shimmered in the early morning sunlight. The following is my favorite photo of the morning as it captured everything: the fog, the dew, and the sunrise. If you look carefully you can see the sun, sunbeams, and the colors of the morning sky. It was almost a pastel sunrise.
I was hoping I might catch a glimpse of the coyote, but no such luck. I suppose I need to be up earlier than he is for that to happen.
And now, your Gnome of the Day. Please meet G.N.O.M.E. #1. He’s a bit crackly and carries a small gnome in the window of his hat (which you can’t see because of the sunlight hitting it at just the right angle to hide the small gnome). Looks like he has a hole in the big toe of his left shoe, too. He must use his feet a lot for traveling.
Through the coyote, we learn to become again as little children with a reawakening of the intellect, creativity, the artistic mind, and all of the intuitive faculties.
~ Ted Andrews, Animal Speak
Can you find the gnome hidden in this garden?
That’s about it from the Bogs for today. Thanks for dropping by and joining me on my early morning walk. 🙂
Life in the Bogs 
Loved the video of the coyote. Isn’t early morning fog marvelous? I remember driving on Skyline Drive in Virginia early one morning when I was a little girl. We had the windows down and drove through the rising mist. “Hey, we’re driving through a cloud!” I said. Lovely pictures.
Thank you, ComingEast. 🙂
My parents took us on a trip that included a drive on Skyline Drive, too. It was a most memorable trip. It was my first experience with forests and mountains, and the possibility of seeing bears.
Lovely photographs !
Thank you, Emad. 🙂
Lovely images, Robin!! 🙂 I love the call of the coyote. When we lived in Craig, Colorado we would hear them quite often in the summer and fall. Hearing a pack on the hunt is very eerie, listining to 10 or more calling at the same time, moving swiftly through the night.
Thank you, Ted. 🙂
I love the coyotes, too…and when they start coming in close to the house again, it means the pups are grown and on their own, and the pack is settling into its fall/winter routine…
I’m ready for mine to come back and eat some of these (expletive deleted) rabbits around here. I just saw 11 of them, while walking 50 yards from the back door to the garbage can!
So, how many gnomes are there on this trail?
There were 20 gnomes, Marie. Enough. 🙂
We have not had any rabbits here this year and I miss them. I like to watch them playing by the wildflower meadow. I think the fox probably got them before the coyote came along.
It’s been some time since I’ve heard coyotes howling in the hills around us. Years ago they would even wander down the road in front of our house yipping and calling to one another. Grateful that me and mine were safely indoors…I still found it eerily wonderful to hear wildlife so near by. I can only imagine that such sounds and sights are commonplace where you are…
lucky, lucky you. 🙂
Thanks, HugMamma. 🙂
the coyote called and you responded with a gnome walk 🙂
very appropriate
I agree, Kel. 😀
When we first moved into our house, around nine that night I stepped outside and listened to the coyotes howl. What a welcome!
Sounds like a wonderful welcome, Joss. 🙂
I can’t imagine how it must feel to wake to a coyote howl. What a strange expereince. Have you had them visit before?
Your photos of early morning dew and fog are lovely!
Kathy
Thank you, Kathy. 🙂
This was the first time I’ve heard a coyote so close to the house, and one that I could easily identify. Sometimes they’re so far off in the distance that I’m just not sure.
MY favorite is the first photo…. reminds me of those crisp, foggy, early fall mornings when we lived in Maryland. Beautiful.
Thank you, Michaela. 🙂
Thank you for the link Robin, It was fantastic being able to hear the Coyote, and see him/her, with so graceful a form, elongated from the domesticated dog in shape…and Mr Cranky Gnome hasn’t got a painted toe nail has he?….Precious Pink? 😀 …. loved the early morning walk…xPenx
Precious Pink. lol! You crack me up, Pen. 🙂
What lovely captures! I really like the first photo. I grew up listening to the call of the coyote with their howls and yips. That is neat to be awakened by a coyote. I listen to the coyotes at night, here, as they call out in their yipping while roaming. Hello to G.N.O.M.E. #1! 🙂
Thank you, Anna. 🙂
What a gorgeous morning!! You are so lucky to have such an amazing place to photograph right outside your door!! One of these days, I’ll get up early enough to catch a sunrise! 😉
I’m hoping to make a habit of it, Holly. It’s a fantastic time of day to be out and about. 🙂
I love this one… and coyote visits here often, too. Sometimes i get really lucky: http://starbear.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/post-a-day-2011-postcard-from-spring/
I remember that post, Starbear. Very lucky. 🙂
I’m pretty sure I’d have heard Mr Coyote outside my window even if it were shut, but then a wild coyote over here would be VERY unusual.. lol… I’d say it was a blessing though, as the early rise certainly got you some amazing shots with that early morning mist..
lol, Brian! I’m sure a coyote would cause quite a stir.
Thank you. 🙂
Thanks for the video of the coyote. I’d never heard one before. I worry about that because our little white dog could be prey.
You’re welcome, Christine. 🙂
Great shots of the mist! I love the lighting in those photos.
Thank you, Belen. 🙂
Early morning is a time to see what many people who are not awoken by a coyote miss. The fog, dew, light all speak of freshness of the new day. Thank you for sharing and to Mr. Coyote for waking you up. 🙂
So true, Scott. I wish I could make a habit of getting up early. Alas, I get my best sleep during those golden hours of the morning. 🙂
Love the first and last shots particularly. That garden is to die for!
Thank you, Robyn. 🙂
I kept expecting the coyote to emerge from the fog and scare the hell out of us. 😆 Love those gnomes.
lol, Elizabeth! I would never do such a thing… maybe… 😉