Ambulance or Coyote?

My grandparents lived in Moulton, AL at the time. I slept in the very back of their house, which was the room closest to the cow pasture. I knew the coyotes probably lurked around at night trying to mess with the cows...or maybe not - LOL. I guess I don't know too much about how those two animals would get along. My grandparents used to have a small dog named Pee Wee. He was so cute, but the coyotes killed him. It was so sad. From then on, my grandparents got German Shepherd dogs that were partly coyote. They were the coolest dogs! We knew the coyotes wouldn't mess with them since they were bigger and part of the same breed. They were so neat. I'm sure the dogs knew how to howl as does my dog - a German Shepherd/Husky mix. My grandma has since passed away, but now my grandpa and his new wife live in Decatur. I'm sure you know where both of those are. (I also have a sister who lives in Montgomery, but that is more in the city.) I know a few places in Alabama considering I've never lived there, but I've always had family that lived there. I love it - it's a beautiful state! I'm so glad you would still choose coyotes howling over ambulances, but it sounds like now you've got the best of both worlds - ambulances and coyotes!

Oh, yes! I know quite a bit about both of these towns. When I went to David Lipscomb University (it was David Lipscomb College when I was there) in the early 70s, we (my parents and I) used to go through Decatur when we would go to Nashville. That's where Lipscomb is located. Now, because of the way the 65 interstate is built, you can bypass Decatur. I have also been to Moulton but that was several years ago. I found it to be a nice little town. Moulton is several miles north of here in Lawrence County. I hear there is an Indian Mound there that I would like to see sometime. I'm very much into Indian folklore and I've been told they have some kind of festival up there every so often. I would like to go to that sometime. The doctor I used to go to here in Jasper was from Moulton. He moved to Fairhope, Alabama, which is in South Alabama. I have also been to Montgomery several times in my life. That's about 2 hours south of here. My parents, nephews, cousins, and some friends of mine and I used to go to the rodeo they used to have every year in Montgomery during spring break at the colliseum. That's really a big place! We always enjoyed the rodeo, though. We would also go see the capitol building, the archives museum, and drive by the Governor's Mansion. It's a small world, isn't it? I'm so glad you really like our state! It is beautiful! Where do you live now? Coyotes are a menace to cattle and horses! I'm just glad I don't have to deal with them. They would kill my horse and little dog sure enough. Kathy.

Thank you for the best response!

Oh, I forgot to answer. I'd rather hear a coyote. Living in my apartment I hear more ambulances. I really am not concerned with coyotes. I don't mess with them, and I don't think they'll mess with me.

You're so nice.

That's really interesting learning about your childhood. We all have things we remember about animals when we were young. It's neat that you took care of cows. I'd be a little leery about being around the bull, though! My grandparents used to have a buffalo farm here in Michigan many, many years ago. It's practically unheard of nowadays since there are fewer and fewer farms in this state nowadays. Here and there I'll see them, but it's rare. I'm much more afraid of snakes than I'll ever be of coyotes. I think I'll stick to your idea if I ever see a coyote - if I don't bother them, they won't bother me! I think that's probably the best way to approach that issue. I like your answer as well since you're familiar with those animals. Ambulances always mean bad news, so I'm convinced by the responses to this discussion that it's probably better to hear coyotes instead! Thanks so much for your response and sharing those stories with me! I really enjoyed them.

Hi there! I'm thinking back to the good ol' days now too lol. I'm sure my city used to be the country. My parents tell me when the private school I went to as a kid used to be a farm with fields and such. Now there's a subdivision around it with the school, busy streets, and gas stations. It's crazy how everything has changed in only a few years! I always like to get away to the country and remember what that's like. I live in a very busy city myself. I vaguely remember when it was more country. However, I like the conveniences of the store being only a couple minutes away, being able to walk to the Coney Island for dinner or the ice cream shop, although I hate all the traffic!

That's so incredibly interesting all the sounds you've heard. The only deer I see are those on the side of busy roads contemplating whether or not to cross (and take the risk of getting hit by a car) or those that have already become roadkill. It's really very sad. I've only seen a couple badgers in really life, but it seems to me like they could become very aggressive, so I have come to close to any of them. I find it funny that you mentioned the owl because it reminded me of a silly story. My in-laws live an hour north of where my husband and I live. We see them at least over other week if not more often. When my husband and I were on our honeymoon last summer, we left our dog with them. Normally, he's an inside dog, but no so with my in-laws, which is fine since I respect that they like to keep their home clean and dog hair free (LOL). They've made a really nice dog pen as an addition onto their shed outside, so that's where our dog stays when he's up there. My in-laws told me that one night at about 4 AM, they heard an owl hooting and sure enough, they could hear our dog starting to howl as well. (It's probably the Husky blood in him!) It was so cute. We got a good laugh out of it when they told us about that. Animals really are intriguing!

Hi there! I'm glad neither sound really bothers you. I'm not a firefighter or anything, but many times when I hear the sirens I wonder where they're going and why as you do. I'm sure in your line of work, you've seen a lot of crazy things, but it's depressing for me to think how many times the ambulances go by every day. When the sirens are going, you can never tell yourself that it's just a "test" or that it's not really anything because you can't fake that!

Wow, you've definitely brought up a good point. I've never looked at it this way, but you're exactly right. Why wouldn't we want to hear the animals? They're a natural noise whereas an ambulance siren always means trouble. I find it interesting that you have a harder time sleeping when you can't hear the coyotes and wolves. I remember when I lived at my parents' house, it was in a regular subdivision in the city, but there was a patch of thick woods across from their house where we could always hear the tree frogs in the summer. Now that I live a few miles down the road and not as near the woods, I really miss hearing the frogs. They were so peaceful. I guess that's exactly the same as hearing the howling. When I would be outside and could hear the frogs, they would comfort me and remind me that it was summer and the weather was nice. I associate those noises with good memories, so that is more than likely how you view the sounds of coyotes and wolves. Clearly preference depends on what we've experienced. I really appreciate your response in allowing me to look at this subject in a completely different way. Thanks so much!

I think you're exactly right. If I decided to move to the country where I would hear coyotes howling at night, I would simply have to get used to the noises. It might scare me at first, but I would learn to love living in the country and would in turn get used to all the sounds it would bring as I've done here in the city. By the way, I've also heard a howling dog - my own - LOL! (He's part Husky, so he likes to howl at the moon...not really, but he howls whenever he feels the need - he he.) Thanks for your response!

Hi there! I know that normally we wouldn't choose either sound to annoy us as we try to sleep - LOL! I agree with you that the ambulance is the better choice for me as well having already been creeped out by coyotes a few years back. I've also heard wolves howling, and it's not a very settling sound. Thanks, Cream!