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Ten Things of Thankful: Coyotes and Bunny and Owl (Oh My!)

Often, when I start to compose my Ten Things of Thankful posts, I see a theme develop for the week.  This week was no exception.  I'm thankful I live someplace where I can see critters in my own backyard.

an old photo, but it serves the purpose

1.  While I do not have real hedgehogs in my back yard, I do have (wild) bunnies.  My garden and the bunnies co-exist nicely, so I'm thankful to see such cute fluff-balls hopping around my yard.

2.  I'm thankful that the two coyotes that were in my backyard this week seem to be scared of my chickens.   I heard my hens raise the alarm, and I rushed outside.  The coyotes were already fleeing my yard before I could shoo them away.  I think the coyotes were frightened of the chickens' squawking.   No chickens were harmed.  John does wonder what we will do if a coyote ever gets caught in the chicken fencing, though.  Hopefully we'll remember to grab the camera on the way to the coop--something I forgot this week.

3.  I'm thankful for a big, majestic owl who decided to rest on one of the light posts in my backyard . . .

4.  . . . and, I'm thankful John was able to get a photo with his silent camera on his phone.  Every time I tried to take a picture with my camera, the owl flew away momentarily.  

The sky was much darker than it appears in this photo.  I photo-edited as best as I could to share this silhouette. (With skills like mine, I could be posting Bigfoot or Loch Ness monster photos in no time!)
5.  Though I'm much more a dog person than a cat person, I do find cats cute.  As long as he will leave the birds alone, I'm thankful to have spotted this cute furry friend in my yard this week.


6.  I'm thankful for Guide Dog puppy Drexel, who is a bundle of happiness, even when going to the vet to be "tutored."  (Do you remember that Far Side cartoon?)

It's taking all of Drexel's concentration to sit still for the photo.  If I tried to capture his exuberance, the photo would be as clear as the owl photo.

7.  I'm thankful that John offered to pick Drexel up from the vet's office, and encouraged me to use the day off from puppy raising to go visit Disneyland.  



 8.  I'm thankful for an annual passport, which allows me to visit on the spur of the moment.  It also allows me to take notice of the small details of the park, without feeling like I need to rush to "get my money's worth."




 9. Returning to our wildlife theme, I'm thankful for the lions that guard my front door--even if they are statues.

10.  And I'm thankful for John and his contributions to holiday decorations.

Trick-or-treaters were greeted by a witch and Transformer, thanks to John.

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Thanks for  creatures, great and small. 

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Ten Things of Thankful


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Comments

  1. How much fun your yard is, Kristi! My girls are in love with the owl, and the kitty and bunny of course. The coyotes being scared of the chickens is really funny.

    Hope you have a great weekend!

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  2. That is one big-eared bunny! Missouri bunnies are much smaller in overall AND ear size.

    When we lived outside of LA, we could sometimes hear the coyotes howl at night. Such an eerie sound!

    I'll take your word that it's an owl :) I tried to take pictures of an eagle that landed in the tree next to my parents' house, and it slowly turned its head towards me, gave me a look, lifted his wings, and silently flew away. Guess he showed me what for!

    That's a beautiful cat! Love the green eyes. And Drexel is a handsome boy!

    If I had a season pass to Disneyland, I'd go there often, too, just to people watch!

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  3. the owl was cool but a transformer lion!? WoW! That is one great big rabbit! Or was it the picture? You have some lovely things going on in your yard. Very cool!

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  4. excellent looking doggie you gots there!

    'Starrry Night and Owl'? lol we have begin to hear coyote in the woods, a little unusual, this being southern New England. But we have never seen one. Foxeses we have on occasion, running along, all close to the ground.

    as always, very cool photos

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  5. Cute post, Kristi! Even though we live in a fairly dense neighborhood, there are still a few critters around. A coyote family was spotted on a semi-developed piece of property that has been sitting without any activity since the economic crash (hopefully, activity will continue again soon now that things are better). We don't get too many jack rabbits (probably because of the coyotes, but we get plenty of roadrunners. Fun to watch!

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  6. The coyotes were afraid of the chickens?!?!?!? You must have wimpy coyotes. :) Our coyotes are fearless, which makes me even more afraid of them.

    Your owl photo and caption cracked me up. Loch Ness, here comes Kristi!

    Your husband has a great sense of humor, dressing the lions for the trick-or-treaters.

    I do enjoy most of the wildlife I find in our yard, too.

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  7. Yay to being able to go to Disneyland and that last picture of your husband was so sweet about him decorating for you. So glad you had a great week and wishing you another wonderful one ahead now. Thanks as always for hosting! :)

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  8. Wow, what giant ears that rabbit has!!! Love the owl-pictures. That's the perfect way to get a yeti-pic too!! Now that I re-think it; wasn't the owl a squating bigfoot?!....
    No need to tell that - of all the animals that joined you today - I love that kitty the most! What a gorgeous fluffy thing... Have a wonderful sunday!

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  9. I love all the animals that come through your garden. We have wild bunnies here too and about five years ago we had baby bunnies in our backyard which was lovely! Disney gardens looked beautiful too - what a great you had!

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  10. Like you, I am grateful for the presence in every way! Thanks for sharing this list.

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  11. Those lions are amazing! They look great decorated for Halloween.
    Your yard, with it's wildlife, is also amazing! My children would be in HEAVEN with all of that wildlife, and chickens and coyotes OH MY! (My husband's allergies would be awful though.)
    My girls get so excited to see a bunny or a squirrel, which we have in abundance. I am very thankful that we have our little yard and patch of nature to enjoy!
    A pass to Disneyland is amazing! We had a membership to our zoo, and you're right, you don't feel bad just going for a couple hours here and there. Totally worth it if you have the time to go! Great post!

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  12. So many wonderful photos to enjoy with your list, Kristi! All beautiful creatures, even those two lions at the end, with handsome guy in the middle! :-) The kitty looks like he/she is of Maine Coon lineage, at least in part, and looks so much like one I once had, Smokey, except that he had a bright orange nose! :-) I love your blessings list, it felt peaceful!

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  13. Love the statues and their costume for Halloween. :) The cat was cute too. I am a dog/cat lover. I am wondering if I can come with a cute abbreviation for that. Hmmm. Anyway, your TToT had me chucklling this weeks so .. . um, thanks. :)

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  14. I love that pic of the owl up there - it looks almost pointilistic or even impressionistic. What lovely things to be thankful for. :) Good stuff!

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  15. I wish our squirrels were as kind as your bunnies! They dig up our flowers and plants and everything else. They're cute tho. As are your awesome lions on the porch!!

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  16. Ok, first of all, I always LOVE your pictures that go along with your thankfuls!

    Secondly....that bunny! What a perfect bunny. He looks so different than the bunnies we have around here. Those ears! Ours must just your regular run-o-the-mill garden-variety (no pun intended) type rabbits. They are much smaller and with much smaller ears.

    Also, Drexel's face. Ugh. He looks SO loveable! I wished I could hug him. ;)

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  17. You have some mighty fine photo-editing skills. :) Your caption cracked me up.

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  18. Your photos are amazing. I think the top flower photo in number 8 is my favourite - so beautiful. It is wonderful to see wildlife so close to home; although we live in a city we have trees and a grassy area out the back and often get squirrels and birds in our garden as well as occasionally seeing foxes. No coyotes though! (They don't live in the UK.)

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  19. These are wonderful - they always are! I am extra thankful that the baby opossum that found his was into our office to live was willing to leave with a little help from Grampy. I love wild animals, too but really?

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