Day before Thanksgiving and out to Howell Nature Center for animal sketching and creative blockbusting. I wanted to get over to see the coyotes this frosty morn and thought the animals would be a little more active.
It was early and my nose alerted me to the fresh pine scent of a shipment of Christmas trees. It was quiet, too. A few birds and little activity. Entering the Wild Wonder Park I saw that the deer munching on a pile of pumpkins as the coyotes paced their pen.
A young coyote I called Little Big Head, with an injured forepaw, ran the loop of his pen on three feet before stopping to nibble on a bone. The other bigger yote with her face and snout poking out from her thick winter coat seemed interested in the Christmas tree goings on and nibbled from a bucket every so often. Both were different and interesting characters to sketch. Each with their own personality.
Then off to see the rest of the animals. When we come out here to cage clean we seldom get a chance to see the rest of the animals so this was a fun and relaxing stroll with just me talking to the animals.
The beaver who had been active last week was nowhere to be seen this morn. The wild turkey pair dined quietly. The bobcat sat staying warm and its head would snap around at the crunch of a leaf. The motionless female fox stared out from her curled body wapped in its warm fluffy tail.
But the curious male cocked his head and following me about posed quite prettily. He seemed to be enjoying the crisp day and gave me plenty of photo opps. Gray squirrels rifled through leaves looking for acorns as I waited to see if the porcupine would come out. Today, even the beaver slept in and must have been in his hill condo and not his usual place. Everybody was sleeping in or staying snug--which sounded good to me--an animal holiday, a critter day off. Then it's back to performing for visitors when they come to pick out their Christmas trees.
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