Big Trouble in Little Suburbs (plus, our first Golden Nugget!)

Last night, I heard the chirp and growl of a chicken scolding something... and then the squeal of a chicken alone or afraid... and then quiet again. When we moved to our new place a few months ago, the neighbors told us about the coyotes. At our previous house, not too far away, we had gotten a letter in the mail warning us about the urban coyote. I never saw or heard one, so I thought maybe they had moved on to another town, or retreated back into the woods, or maybe all our construction sounds have kept them away. Until last night.

This morning, a pile of feathers lay on the ground right outside our window. I looked up slightly and there he was - he was HUGE and had come back for more! I thought I was looking at a wolf! The biggest coyote I've ever seen, the kind legends are made from - I guess he's eating all that hormone-injected food from our suburban trash cans?! So, I went outside to scare him off, and there was another one - smaller, the size you would expect to see from a coyote. So, I clapped and made a deep barking sound like a big dog (looking around, hoping the neighbors wouldn't see me making that sound!), and down back into the suburban woods they retreated. We are lucky enough to have this 18-acre protected greenspace behind us, that is connected to several other suburban wooded areas by trails. We get deer, rabbits, a thousand squirrels, and now coyotes. With big property comes big responsibility, as Spidy would say.

With one negative surprise this morning, came a positive one - OUR FIRST EGG! This is so exciting - it was small, but perfect to me; a little golden nugget. I had a dream a few nights ago that I had found our first egg and it was all deformed and brown and was speckled. Later on in the dream, after carrying the egg around with me everywhere and showing it to everyone, I looked closer and the spots were actually poop specks, and then I woke up - silly! We'll eat the egg later tonight because when I found it, my husband was on his way out to go to work, so I put it in the refrigerator. Maybe we'll get some more today?!! I wish I knew which chicken it was so I can give her some yummy treats! They are only 5 1/2 months old and I can't wait until we start to get eggs-a-plenty! When they really start rolling, I'll get to sell some on the side to help support my stay-at-home mom lifestyle - if you are near Portland, Oregon, let me know! I check every day for new eggs. They are cage free and very happy (well, except for the one that was made a meal) so will produce some very good eggs. I just have to keep the coyotes away.

So, now I keep looking out the window whenever I see anything move - oh, good, just a tree branch in the wind, not that cunning coyote pair. WHAT'S THAT? Oh, just my own reflection in the window - pfew! Backyard chickens are really fun - I'll have to figure out a way to keep those coyotes out. This picture makes them look so cute, but not with a chicken feather sticking out of the corner of his mouth! Leave a comment and let me know if you have any ideas?!