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The Boneyard in My Back Yard
There’s a bit of road that curves off our main dirt road and meanders down across the creek. Then you can turn right and circle back to our house, crossing a meadow and a bridge and then climbing up a couple steep banks to access the front door. I call this route “The Circuit,” and I like to drop down there after a walk to the mailbox for the extra exercise and scenery, including a stand of tall white birches near the creek. Or, instead of turning right after the culvert, you can take a left, hit a hairpin turn, and hike up the lane only to double back higher up and if you’re lucky, get a view of the valley floor and the wall of mountains beyond.
I’ve been avoiding both these routes lately, as our neighbor has seen both bear and mountain lion on his game camera. They like the creek, my husband says, and since our neighbor’s house is level with it, they see the creatures that haunt that area. My husband also saw a baby bear down there around June, upon investigating why a deer was huffing so loudly. And baby bears mean angry, protective mothers who can’t be reasoned with. Furthermore, my daughter sent a recording of mountain lion chirps she heard emanating from behind our house. But my avoidance dates back further, my reluctance to walk there especially alone well justified from experiences spanning the last few years.
Around 2021, on a pleasant stroll on the road that bends leftward, I was taking in the foliage and the cluster of deer grazing on the bank, including some pretty little dappled twins, when I thought I heard movement in the thickly wooded area to their left, where the ground drops away to the level of the creek. I hesitated, and then upon walking past the deer, could have sworn I heard a growl coming from the vicinity of the upper branches of trees. I got out of there and am alive writing this today, but that’s not all. If memory serves, I’ve heard other sounds coming from those woods, and one day, my daughter and I got the kind of surprise you can only experience living out in the country.
It must have been mid-spring or late fall, because the foliage in that dark forest had thinned enough for us to see down the bank onto the forest floor. As we passed the woods, we peered down and saw something stunning–bones were strewn all over the ground. It was an animal graveyard, and we figured we were seeing deer remains. But why so many all in one place? I theorized that the growling and activity I heard was most certainly a mountain lion warning me away–not from his prey of fawns grazing on the bank, but from his fresh kill, which didn’t interest me a bit. Maybe mountain lions brought their carcasses back here to feed?
We told my husband about the strange, creepy find and then he solved the mystery for us. The neighbors at the very top of the side road, some half mile up, would go hunting. After a successful expedition, they would discard the remains at the bottom of their hill. This convenient trash can might have seemed removed from civilization for them–far away at least from their own premises–but was a nuisance and a hazard for our family, who had to live with the results.
My daughters and I have recently resumed The Circuit, and the other day, Dill and I climbed up to see the view. The sight of the valley floor was blocked by foliage and a large, red-limbed shrub, but with the fresh air and the sharp fall colors, the invigorating hike was worth the risk. Those neighbors, I believe, have moved on, so there’s no supply of fresh meat that would attract predators. Besides, we always carry bear spray.
There’s a gorgeous view at the end of this ridge we had cleared a few years ago. I had no idea about the view until we brought a logging company to thin out our overgrown, straggly woods.
The footbridge behind the house. (Well, it was made for ATV crossings, too.)
The meadow with creek running through, taken from our back deck. There’s a firepit in the foreground.
This looks like the walk up on the side road. You can turn left and double back to see the view, or keep climbing.
Great views. The Extra Bear Danger, however, would be highly concerning. My understanding of bears is that they like honey and can tear you to shreds, so I’ve opted to invest in honey stocks and not running into bears in the woods.
Mountain lions are just big kitties. With bigger teeth and claws. And a bigger attitude. Okay, maybe avoid them.
The coyotes in our area used to come up through the housing tract at night and gather at a park and howl and yip over something that they had killed. Haven’t heard them lately. I would have thought the prolonged dry summer heat and the recent fires would have pushed them and the mountain lions down into the residential areas by now but thus far it has been quiet. Still, if I walk down to my mailbox at night, I typically slip a canister of pepper spray in my pocket. We’ve had cougar attacks just a few miles from us a few years ago and one of my neighbors was confronted by a mountain lion in the neighborhood on his morning jog. So, always a good practice to stay alert.
Every once in a while I’ll watch some ranch real estate videos on YouTube on my TV and am amused when I see a guy fly fishing near a stream or river bank in bear country without a dog or a sidearm. I realize there may be the camera operator and perhaps one or two other people nearby getting the shot but still.
Then there are the mountain home real estate shows where a realtor is showing a home in Montana, Wyoming, or Alaska. Sometimes as the realtor walks a couple around the property showing a separate garage or out building they’ll be toting a rifle. For newbies to country living, this is a first subtle instruction that what you may encounter in your idyllic new surroundings may want to eat you or tear you apart.
We have a population of coyotes in our sparsely populated area. Half the people here love them; the other half don’t. :) I’m in “don’t” category.
A bunch of coyotes live behind us on a golf course that abuts our property. I mentioned to a neighbor of mine the unsettling howling fests that I hear so often. I have always assumed that they were celebrating killing some small animal. But my neighbor said the opposite is true. The howling is a communication system. They are very quiet when they have caught a prey so as not to alert other predators to their meal. I don’t know if that’s true or not.
We live near a marsh so we also have a lot of red tailed hawks and great horned owls. The owls keep the hawks away, apparently. That’s good news for the songbirds.
What’s neat about the owls, we have learned, is that they set up a four-point square grid around an area. In our case it is around our house. They call to each other at certain times of the early and late evening with curious punctuality. They raise their young inside the grid and some of the communication is to those owlets. :) :)
The other thing I have learned as a gardener is that, contrary to the constant harping of the “environmentalists” that we humans are destroying the animals’ habitat, the wild animals actually prefer the human-improved spaces to the wild ones. Too funny. Leave it to the intellectuals to get it all backward. :)
Deer love to munch on flowers in well-tended flower gardens. It’s their buffet that humans have been so thoughtful to provide for them.
This little guy or one just like him has been moping around the park two blocks south of here for the last twelve years or so. Nobody has seen him in a while, but I did find a dead rabbit in the backyard late one night this summer that had been reduced to tufts of fur by morning. Folks have seen him (or a relative) four blocks north of here.
Both are true. Some animals’ habitats are destroyed by our human activities, and some animals’ habitats are enhanced. And we don’t always get it right as to which are which, so it’s good to pay attention.
Wildlife ecologists often talk about “edge effects.” Hunters, too. Look at where hunters place their deer stands, whether here in the U.S. or in Europe. They’re often in gunshot view of the interface between woods and fields, and seldom in the middle of a big wooded area or large agricultural field area. Fields of soybeans or corn are great feeding grounds for deer, but mostly along the edges. The deer need the woods, too, and access to water. The edge gives them both.
It works for humans, too. In my part of Michigan, at the time of European settlement there were prairie areas of various sizes and shapes, surrounded by woodland. If you work out the locations of the settlers who came first and had first dibs on the land, their cabins were located on the edges, where on one side there was access to good farmland that was ready for the plow, and on the other there was access to wood and water. Some of the present-day roads depart from the usual checkerboard grid, and still follow the old prairie edges. The Native American settlers who preceded the Europeans had similar (though not identical) criteria and patterns for where they put their villages and fields.
All good points and very true. :) :)
When I lived in Carson Canyon, a lifetime ago, my neighbor down the road, who was my former scoutmaster, related that he was once shot at by a deer hunter while putting shingles on the roof of his home …because, you know, deer often re-shingle rooftops.
This is a perfect word to describe coyotes’ behavior. Others are skulking, sneaking, or slinking.
Nice photos, especially the one of your meadow with a creek flowing through it! Do you use jars and nets so you can find out what aquatic invertebrates are in it?
Some years ago there was a claimed sighting of a cougar in our area, which kept Mrs R from taking her usual walks out back on our small acreage. Another time is was a pair of vicious dogs that had gotten away from their owner and had evaded small weapons fire from one of our neighbors and from an animal control officer, who both retreated to safety after ineffectual firing of several shots.
Now it’s nothing as glamorous as bear or mountain lions that keep Mrs R from taking walks out back. Instead, it’s deer ticks. I give the paths an occasional mowing and keep the brush cleared. The deer seem to appreciate my efforts, because they use these paths preferentially to walking through the tall grass or making their way through brush. They also bring deer ticks.
The ticks have been scarce this summer. I think I’ve only picked one or two deer ticks and a small handful of wood ticks off myself this year, compared to other years when it was almost a daily exercise. I still give myself a tick check in a mirror every night. The deer ticks need about a full day to burrow into your skin to a level where they can release the Lyme disease bacterium into your blood stream, so there is no great hurry, but Mrs R doesn’t even want to deal with that much. So she misses out on the enjoyment of our small acreage.
I’m miffed about owners who do this. At least sic your sweet dogs on everybody. Then no one gets hurt. What are you thinking when you let your mean dogs run around??
It is kind of a bummer not to be able to wander freely without fear of aggressive wildlife–or clueless dog owners letting their mean dogs out.
Lovely photos – thanks for sharing them with us. You live in a beautiful area!
Thanks, Painter Jean! Come visit sometime.
The mountain lions seem to avoid treating us humans like lunch or dinner as long as there is enough wild game to support their appetites.
School kids in my area commonly discuss the lion that was half a block down the hill from them as they were walking home from school. They simply double back a ways and find an alternative route home.
A few years ago, in areas outside Boulder, CO, rampant suburbia had eliminated too much of the wild game and the lions have decided that people will do just as nicely. I’m hoping those guys aren’t emailing their lion-y friends out here that we taste “somewhat like venison.”
The dogs were a one-time thing. There’s more to the story that I think I learned when I was telling a co-worker about them. She mentioned somebody she knew whose dogs had got away, and then she went mum as I think she realized we were both talking about the same dogs. That was twenty years ago and there has been no such problem since. The ticks are what keep Mrs R from walking out back now. She still goes out for walks, just not on our acreage.
People in our part of the world are pretty good about keeping their dogs confined to their yards. It’s a lot different than 40+ years ago when we used to let our own dog run loose much of the time. When you go into southern Indiana, it seems there are more people who still let dogs run loose. It used to be an issue that bicyclers talked about, but even there I think people are better about keeping their dogs contained these days. When I rode to Louisville two years ago, I had three encounters with loose dogs. Two of them were unpleasant standoffs with multiple dogs, each. At another a white, lab-type dog ran out towards me from its yard. No barking. When I braked to a stop it came right on up to me and put its head where I could pet it. I scratched and petted it for a while, and then when I told it, “Well, I’ve to get going now,” it turned around and ran back to its owners’ yard.
Beautiful photos! We have wildlife around, too. Florida panthers (who are very shy), deer, armadillo, oppossums, and lately bears have been reported. Since I stick to the streets for my walks, I don’t expect to run into a bear, but you never know!
Seen any ticks with a white spot on the back? That carries the Alpha Gal disease, which causes various allergic reactions to meat from mammals and dairy products. Most affected by the disease have to switch to a ‘fins and feathers’ diet — fish and poultry. My husband was diagnosed with it last June, after suffering through months of fatigue, dizziness, congestion, and other symptoms. He also had Rocky Mountain spotted fever – not fun! He can eat Daisy cottage cheese, but not Sam’s, Walmart, or Braum’s. There are thickeners, additives, and gums in the other brands. He has to watch out for carrageegan, some spices, and types of sugar. Sugar is processed using bone char – mammals. Turbinado (brown) is what he uses in or on anything he wants to sweeten. Aldi’s oat milk has replaced cow milk – it’s actually very tasty in scrambled eggs, omelets, gravy, cheese sauce (made with ‘faux fromage’), and other places where cow juice is usually used. It’s very good on oatmeal – duh! He can eat most hard cheeses, but uses fake cheese shreds a lot. He has lost almost 40#, which makes his doctor happy – down to 235 from 270. Use tick repellent!
Wow! I’ve never heard of this condition.
It’s becoming more common in Kansas. My grand-niece has it – she’s 6. If she eats a regular hot dog, she breaks out in hives. We’ve found turkey hot dogs are great grilled, as are turkey burgers. Crazy thing about my niece, though-her mom is a NURSE, and still feeds her things that cause problems for her. They give her Benadryl, which treats the symptoms, when they should be preventing them. If her throat swells shut, she can’t swallow the Benadryl! My husband has 2 Epi-pens he carries with him everywhere, along with allergy pills and antacids. He’s been lucky — he has had some dizzy spells, and some gas, but hasn’t needed the pens yet.
I’ve heard of it. We don’t have those ticks around here but that doesn’t mean they won’t be showing up, so we keep an eye out for them. I guess I should learn more about their attaching and embedding behavior so I’d know if my system of evening tick-checks would still suffice. If anything ever shows up that takes only a couple of hours to attach and get at your bloodstream, that is going to require major changes. At present, with all the going in and out I do and all the clothes changes on hot sweaty days, I just don’t see tick repellent as being practical. Our oldest son has invested in clothing that has tick protection and repellent built in, but that’s even less practical for me. He only goes out back for a few hours on a weekend, and it has worked for him. After getting Lyme disease four years ago (twice in that year) I not only got more rigorous about my evening tick checks, but I took measures to manage my outdoor work clothes differently to keep those clothes with possible ticks separated from the others (in addition to all the other separations and drying of sweaty clothes I need to do). It requires more space in our garage, but that’s part of dealing with the problem.