The Weekly Smile for September 21, 2020 #weeklysmile

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Over the last year or so I have had several smiles based around the wild animals I saw. For instance, one week a seal came close to my kayak to investigate and I got a few photos. Or what about seeing a bear up close and personal? There were osprey and baby hummingbirds and even a bobcat. This week carries on the tradition.

I was on Cape Cod at the end of last week. Friday started off wet and rainy. I took a walk right after the rain ended, so it was still grey and damp. As I was walking down the road, a little “dog” was trotting up towards me. I almost instantly realized what it was and stopped. I put my hands on my hips, which may have been a mistake, since it suddenly noticed me. The coyote (did you guess?) stopped and stared for a second before running through the yard next to me and back into the woods. Funny thing, to get to the woods it actually crossed the road to get closer to me, so I got a very good view.

I knew there were coyotes around. You can hear them yipping and occasionally howling late at night. I’ve also seen coyotes on a few occasions in the past, but usually at a distance. This was as close to one as I have ever been.

As when I saw the bobcat, I was a little surprised at how small it was. But then, both of them (bobcat and coyote) were around 40 lbs (18 kg), so not huge animals. I think of a coyote as being bigger than my my boxer, but my boxer weighs almost twice as much, so, no.

Also, I was not as close to the coyote as I was to the black bear I saw this summer. Uhm, I was way to close to the bear! Perhaps 15 feet (3 meters). I was more like 25 to 30 feet from the coyote (8 to 10 m). Close enough for a good look, but not too close for comfort. I did not have my dogs with me, so no worries there.

It is always cool seeing wildlife out in the wild, so my smile this week was seeing a coyote while taking a walk.

What made you smile?

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Come on, I’m sure you smiled at least once last week.  Why don’t you share it?  I hope you can join in!

Here is list of “rules” and guiding ideas.  If you don’t have time to read it right now, just remember that this is an exercise to spread positivity.  Don’t smile about the misfortune of others.  Don’t smile in a way to excludes others.  Make sure a 12 year old can read it.

To join in, write a post to share your smile and then leave a comment on this post with a link to your smile.  Or, if you prefer, do a pingback to this post (pingback = have a link from your post to this one) (Note – pingbacks have been very inconsistent – please leave a comment :) ).   You can post any time until next Sunday evening (to be simple, I will say midnight GMT, which is 7 PM Sunday for me).   Next week I will compile all of the Smiles and do a separate post of them on Monday morning just before the smile.  (I will shoot for around 7 AM EST).

38 thoughts on “The Weekly Smile for September 21, 2020 #weeklysmile”

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  5. SHL2

    Coyotes remind me of a skinny dog they are not big animals. They say there are cougars here but in all my years living here, I have never seen one. My brother n law had some bob cats for pets one time, he killed a large wolf close by years ago. This wolf was bigger than Cricket but probably did not out weigh here. I love wildlife I enjoy photographing it from a reasonable distance. I am glad you have close enough encounters to enjoy some wildlfie.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Seeing this coyote from very close, I was surprised at how small it was. After studying it more, I think at least one of the “coyotes” I had seen in the past was a wolf – they do not live around here, but at least once a year someone kills one, so they do range over here occasionally. All of the coyotes I had seen had been at a distance, they were running one way and I was on a bicycle traveling 25 mph the other… Not easy to judge size. The bobcat I saw was also smaller than I expected until I thought about it – it’s face was more than three times the diameter of our 15 lb cat’s face, so it was a good size! The bear, though, was bigger than expected ;) It must have been close to 500lbs! It is always great to see wildlife, and I love to photograph it (at a safe distance) when I can, but most of my recent encounters occurred when I didn’t have a camera.

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  6. Natasha

    Nothing like seeing wildlife in the wild. I am fascinated by the seal you saw while kayaking and the bear would have been incredible.
    I know they can get dangerous, but I love the way they scamper around,. We have sloth bears in India that piggy back their babies right until they are 18 months!

    Lovely encounters and so much reason to smile. I needed those smiles today.

    The morning sky made me smile today, as the piping out soup I doled up with the basil and oregano from our terrace garden.

    Here are some smiles from a weekend jaunt:

    https://natashamusing.com/2020/09/the-hidden-life-of-trees-wordlesswednesday-wednesdaywisdom/

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Seeing wildlife is great, even those few times that it is a little scary (running around a corner and being face to face with a bear!). Some of the wildlife in India is fascinating (the bobcat I saw was smaller than a tiger’s head…), and baby bear piggy-backing on its mother sounds great.

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  7. dprastka

    Hi Trent, We have coyotes here and we don’t usually see them during the day. Unless they are ill. We were seeing one roam around during the day and I think it had mange. I have seen them at night when I head to work roaming the streets and I know they try and get peoples chickens. It is fun to see the wildlife as long as it is from a distance! Great smile post!! Here is my smile for this week!

    https://myhorsestories.blog/2020/09/23/my-weekly-smile-sept-23-2020/

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I don’t see or hear them during the day often, so it was a little surprising. This one looked very healthy, and it was a dark and dingy day, so… That is the problem with wild carnivores, they don’t discriminate between wild and domestic animals when they are hungry, and domestic are usually easier to catch.

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  9. Shannon

    I love (safe) close encounters with wildlife! This week on a hike I was crossing a footbridge over a large creek and had to do a triple take at what I saw – a 7 foot alligator spinning in circles as it rode the current! 😂 I was so stunned I didn’t think to take a video until it was almost too far away.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I do love seeing wild animals, and to me that is another benefit of NH over FL – I’d rather run into a coyote than an alligator ;) Actually, I’m sure that would have been cool to watch. Sorry you didn’t get a video, but I understand completely! It is the last thing my mind in similar circumstances: living the moment is so much more important!

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  10. notestowomen

    It’s always such a treat to see wild animals. Apparently there have been recent coyote sightings on the compound where I work so employees who are cautioned to be alert when accessing the premises. I’m working from home but it would have been nice to see them–from a safe distance, of course :)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I love seeing wild animals. Coyote are rarely aggressive towards humans, but dogs are another matter, as are roadrunners, at least according to the cartoons ;) Sorry you missed seeing them. I’m also working full time from home.

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  11. workinacresnothours

    Wow i cannot even imagine living where there are coyotes & bears & bobcats. The seal sounds cute. I did nearly walk into a baby red belly black snake(deadly but only about 1mtr long)last week, i apologised & stepped aside so it could continue on its way. Love wildlife.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      It is cool to see all of the wildlife, but interesting that I’ve seen more in the last two years than the last 20! Of course, it helps that I go back and forth between tow places (bear and bobcat were seen in New Hampshire, the coyote and seal on Cape Cod). Cool seeing the snake. Yeah, I’m sure it was a little scary to see a poisonous snakes, but still cool. Wildlife is great :)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I see them much more often than hear them – it has been years since I have seen a coyote, but I hear them all of the time. Yes, a danger to small dogs (and large ones if you aren’t careful) and cats. Most people don’t let either cats or dogs wonder around outside on their own too much around here, so hopefully not many issues. Still cool to see :)

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  13. dawnkinster

    Every time I’ve seen a coyote, which I admit is only 2, I have initially thought it was a dog. Neither time did I realize what it was in time to get a really good look. We have them all over here, and I think in our own back yard, based on scat and tracks I’ve seen. I am always wondering if I’m being watched when I take Katie out at night to do her business. If she even hints that she smells something we’re in the house in a flash, job done or no.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Truthfully, there is only one other time I am 100% sure what I saw was a coyote. The others were at a distance, they were running and I was traveling (twice on a bicycle, once driving). All of them I first thought were deer! But then I recognized they were canidea but not canines (digs). I always thought coyote, but I’m not sure. Coyote/dog hybrid? Possibly. Coyote/wolf hybrid? The more I think about it, the more likely. All east cost coyotes have wolf blood, and I saw all of these within a couple of years of them showing up, so wolf/coyote hybrid is very possible and these were all as big as a wolf, not as small as a coyote. It is always best to keep your dog as far as possible from coyotes! Coyotes are rarely aggressive around people unless dogs are involved.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I typically don’t see many animals, even when deep in the forests on major hikes, so seeing so many in the last year or two has been cool. As to bear, they are very common in New England. I know people who see them in their yards all of the time. That didn’t take away from my surprise of almost literally running into one!

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