My first time and coyotes ta boot!

Well, here I am, sitting in front of this screen, knowing there are things I'd like to say, but not quite knowing what to write. I've wanted to blog for a long time, but I wasn't sure if I wanted other folks to read my inmost thoughts, whispers, rants and feelings. However, it would be neat to have something for my kids and family to read some day. I'm guessing that on a daily basis, they don't much care what I have to say right now. Maybe it'll mean something later? I hope so. So, this is my first time to blog...

This morning at 4:25, the coyotes woke me up--AGAIN! This time, though, when I heard them, it was different, and much closer. I looked outside--our back fence is wrought iron because our home backs up to a pond with a fountain (REALLY neat)--across the pond where the mowed area meets the brush, and I couldn't see a thing. The fog was rolling in, so along with the sleep in my eyes and my far-sighted blur, I couldn't see anything. I woke Kelly because it sounded like they were right outside our yard. He took out his earplugs and heard them too, and realizing that yes, they were close, he came to the window. We watched for a few minutes, and never saw them, so he went back to bed--he was raised in the country--unlike his citified wife--and doesn't "pay no mind to them there puppies of the brush," but I was really scared. So I watched some more--I'm not sure why except sfor sheer curiosity, I guess--don't know what I thought I was going to do other than get more scared! Anyway, the moonlight finally glistened in one of their eyes and I saw them! There were at least 2 but I think I saw 3. They were pretty big as they leered toward our homes and then slinked back into the brush. I woke Kelly again so that he could see I wasn't crazy. He saw them and went back to bed. So, realizing there was nothing I could DO, I crawled back in myself. Our shih tzu (Victoria Belle or Tori, as we call her) knew what was going on. She heard them too, but she didn't move off the comfort of our bed. So, I grabbed her up, and snuggled her next to me, and there she laid until this morning. Funny girl--just like a child--she thinks that if she's close to her parents, there's NOTHING that can harm her. :) ANYWAY, fast forward a few hours...I called the City of Grand Prairie, told them where I lived and the whole experience. She told me that there was nothing they could do because the animals are wild and we're moving in on "their" territory. I asked about other complaints, and she assured me that there had been several--especially in our area of "town," AND that there are bobcats out here too. I was SO glad to hear that. I feel much better knowing that the cousin of mountain lions is probably lurking behind my house as well...She told me that we should not leave food, trash, or small animals outside. She also suggested that next time I see them, I should step outside and make a noise to scare them off. (YEAH, RIGHT!) I politely acted like she had given me all the help I could EVER need and thanked her and told her to have a great day. I wonder if I could go to jail for shooting one...would that noise be loud enough???