An almost adventure

We first noticed the coyotes yesterday. A pair. Beautiful, thick fur coats. They were running through the pasture, and heading towards our back meadow.  Journey and I found a den back there last Fall, and we assumed they were a mated pair, checking out the old den site.

This morning, they were back. I saw Journey cue into something, and sure enough, there were the two coyotes.  But then, I noticed something else.  A murder of crows- actually ravens.  (a large group of crows is not called a flock. It's called a murder!  eerie, huh?)  

A bunch of crows always makes me nervous. They often group up when something has died.  Crows are part of Nature's way of cleaning- but it always makes me sad.

By the time I noticed the eagles, I KNEW something had succumbed.  Our rancher neighbor is in the middle of calving season, but I hadn't noticed any cows in that field so I was pretty sure it was one of my deer. That's when I decided to walk down and find out.

I didn't take the dogs or Hobbes with me, because of the coyotes and eagles-  I just set off alone.

Immediately, I noticed a beautiful Bald eagle in a distant tree.  Do you see her? (you can click on the photo to view it larger).  She stood out so prominently that it was quite awhile before I noticed the immature (baby) eagle on the branch below her.  Another baby circled in the air.

By now, I was absorbed with watching the eagles, and wasn't really thinking about discovering the kill site.

I crept closer and closer, until I spooked the baby.

Mom (or Dad) allowed me to get even nearer, but eventually, it took off

and flew pretty much right over me.

Thrilling!

and then, I looked around me.

I could still hear the ravens- their eerie, raucous calling. But I was walking deeper into the woods, when I remembered I was uncomfortably close to the area where a mountain lion had killed a coyote last summer.  My imagination had me wondering if perhaps the lion had made another kill... and was, perhaps, still ON that kill... And here I was, walking without dogs, or guns, or even a stick deeper into the lion's territory.  EEK!

I turned back. :)  and I don't mind telling you, I looked over my shoulder quite a bit, too.

When I got closer to the pasture, I was comforted to see that the mares weren't anxious.

Dakota was grazing

as was Wynter.

Journey was wondering what in the world I was doing- and if perhaps, whatever it was, involved food?  She came trotting over to me- totally unconcerned about mountain lions.

I, always, take my cues from my animals. They see, hear, smell and sense so much more than we ever do.  So, I'm sure there was nothing out there to be afraid of.  However, later today, when I drove up (so sue me... I drove instead of walked- it was cold, and grey, and yukky!) to get the mail, I found ANOTHER kill site in our neighbor's field.  A deer and very recent.  So, there IS a predator out there somewhere, and an adventure in the making.