Holler Creatures~

On April 21, 2023April 23, 2023 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life218 Comments

Look at those ears! This watcher caught me unaware through the window at dawn. I shot him through double paned glass in the rain. Holler coyotes are quite bold now, coming through our fences before dawn and hanging out. This is a sub-adult, so I suspect he dug under the fences.

You can see he is bold, made and held eye contact, even while I grabbed my camera case, pulled out my camera, removed the lens cap, and got a few shots.

Since he didn’t back off, I opened the door, and walked after him. He sashayed off after I yelled.

This guy in Death Valley also stood his ground, but he was not challenging, more interested.

He sashayed off too.

These are more Holler sub-adult coyote siblings. The one who stared at me also has a sibling. All four are about the same age, sub-adult.

This is an adult. Coyotes and Grey Wolves may be the only ‘pure’ wild canine species still surviving in North America. Most other wolf species have at least some coyote DNA.

Red Wolves, for example, share 75% of their DNA with coyotes. For more on this read: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/distinctions-blur-between-wolf-species#:~:text=Red%20wolves%20contain%20about%2075,to%2050%20percent%20coyote%20ancestry.

There are also a lot of Ceonothus Silk Moths at The Holler right now. Ceonothus is lilac. We live in Lilac California, named after the wild lilacs that grow profusely here. Ceonothus Moths lay their eggs on wild lilac. They have a wing span of up to five inches, have no mouth, live only a matter of days and only live to reproduce.

They are calm and beautiful creatures who are not afraid of humans.

Cheers to you from The Holler Creatures~

Holler Hiking~

On June 20, 2020July 6, 2020 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Coyotes, GARDENING AT THE HOLLER, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, REVERIES, Wild Life207 Comments

and picnicking,

are perfect during a pandemic.

No one here but us turkeys.

Well there are lots and lots of coyotes skulking about….

and cacti blooming everywhere.

The pasture below The Holler is happy due to all the rain,

and this is our peaceful morning view.

Cheers to you, from all of us, hunkered down at The Holler, with hopes you are staying safe and well~

Into Eden’s~

On August 4, 2016August 5, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES285 Comments

wild west,

coyotes rule,

above the rest.

Lords

of the night,

they reign

supreme.

But in the day,

they step aside,

when into Eden,

serpents slide.

This 12-year-old Southern Pacific Rattlesnake was about 20 feet from our door. She was well over 5 feet in length. My son said, “Aren’t you going to take her picture?”

I was so shocked by her too close presence that I forgot about taking pics which is a first for me, and I was a bit rattled when I finally took them! This is the wild west, and the rattlesnakes live here, and always have.

On another note, a genetic study was published a few days ago, which clarified there is only one true north american wolf, the grey wolf, others are coyote/wolf hybrids.

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-wolf-species-20160727-snap-story-20160727-snap-story.html

Cheers to you from Eden’s Holler~

Your Holler Friends~

On April 11, 2016April 11, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES285 Comments

Check out the critters who dropped by The Holler in the last week or so.

Grosbeaks are building nests all over Hollerdom.

Red winged blackbirds are new arrivals and are hopefully nesting too.

The orioles own the place, and their distinctive hanging nests are up and going.

Yep, we put out a snoopy toddler pool for wildlife watering.

Wily E. sniffed it a bit and helped himself mid-day, soon after we filled it! Cheeky wily one.

Osprey came to check out all the action.

Maybe he followed the bald eagle.

One Ceanothus Moth typically shows up each year, usually in May. This one was early and had a five-inch wingspan!

Cheers to your from your Holler critter friends~

Lo-Down Ankole Watusi Holler Life-

On January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels260 Comments

The Holler is really a Holler and not only for the birds.

It is for low-down, on the ground, critter life as well. Meet the new, free range calf.

And, meet the guys who are overly fond of new free range calves.

We were quite done with watching the coyotes prey on the defenseless calves, and the cowboy intermittently shoot the coyotes.

This approach solved nothing.

The cowboy who grazes the free range cattle on the 1200 acre state-owned nature preserve that abuts The Holler, finally came up with a creative solution.

You know I value creativity. It is why I love bloggers so much!

Anyhoo, meet the new juvenile Ankole-Watusi bull. Imagine how big he is gonna be when he is all “growed” up!

These are African free range cattle that grow horns up to eight feet from tip to tip. At night, in Africa, when predators are active, the Ankole adults place the calves in the center, while the adults, and their eight foot horns defend the perimeter through intimidation. They are highly protective of calves and able to repel African predators. These cattle can subsist in drought conditions with low water and feed.

They are currently interbred in Europe and North America and, and news to me, The Holler. I had no idea of the Ankole solution until my telephoto saw them, and I sent it straight from my camera, to your eyes!

I am grateful to my camera because Ankole can be quite aggressive towards humans. If my camera hadn’t alerted me to their presence, I would still be hiking in the preserve, not expecting an ambush by potentially aggressive African bulls!

The coyotes are now in a state of détente. When the Ankoles lower their horns in the coyotes direction, off the coyotes trot. Coyotes regulate their estrus and birth cycles in accordance with environmental conditions. They are intelligent and adaptable. As they are able to kill less calves, they will limit their birth rates, and subsist on rodents.

Of course the poor squirrels have no say in this matter, but at least they can run fast into their extensive burrows.

Cheers to you from the still wild, and almost natural, Holler~
For more than you probably ever want to know about the Ankole-Watusi check out: http://edventures.phoenixzoo.org/pdf/animalFactSheets/watusiCattle.pdf

Holler Homecoming Hoedown~

On October 15, 2014February 24, 2015 By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Sunsets258 Comments

The wild critters seem happy we are back at The Holler. They staged quite the homecoming! Even Wiley E. came out in broad daylight, sashayed by, and winked at me and I have the pic to prove it!

Look how fat and healthy he is! I don’t even want to think about what he’s been eating. He’s not too shy is he?

And what big teeth you have Mr. Coyote! This is a different Wiley. Possibly a Willette. We have lots and lots of Wileys and Willettes at The Holler.

Beep Beep is always content snooping around us. He is a hobbyist human watcher. He doesn’t even pay attention to Wiley E….. Smart Beeper.

The shy little woodpecker even dropped by to say hello!

After six years I have finally learned to make a credible hawk call. I called, they came. Or maybe they were just flying by. But I think they respond to my call and it confuses the ravens too. They keep looking for the hawk on the ground!

And of course The Holler Hummers. I miss them so much when I am away.

Europe is incredible but they don’t have Wileys or Beeps or Hummers. Wild animals just make the very best neighbors. I like having them on my HOA!

And The Holler? Well it is rural, rustic, and in a horrible drought, but even so, it is awful purty.

Cheers to you from all the happy Holler critters~
.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Lords of The Holler Part II: Night Terrors!

On August 9, 2013August 10, 2013 By cindy knokeIn Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES97 Comments

When the sun goes to bed,
the howling hordes raise their heads.

They call to each other across the valley,
as the sun paints portraits in the sky.

Woe to the creatures in the failing light,
the Lords of The Holler rule the night.

Howling.

Alert now, and watching.

Commencing the hunt.

At night at The Holler,
be cautious.

The shadows are alive.

Note: These night photos of Canis latrans were taken with a motion activated, night-vision camera.

Lords of the Holler Part I: Dawn.

On August 7, 2013August 10, 2013 By cindy knokeIn Coyotes, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES136 Comments

He doesn’t want to play nice with me! This coyote surprised me and stood his ground. He stared at me and even lowered his head as if preparing to charge. Gets your heart beating faster then your morning cup of joe!

All of these photos were taken at early, misty, dawn.

Like most wild animals, the coyotes know you are there, well before you know they are! Usually they move off, but the large alpha males sometimes don’t, and this always gets my full attention

They are gorgeous, highly-adaptive, intelligent animals. This one looks away.

Sometimes they watch you, but typically, move off rather quickly.

This one hears something that interests him more than me, which is always good.

They have incredible hearing and are remorseless pack hunters, bringing down calves, despite the efforts of the herds and the bulls to protect them.