It’s five hours later and the coyotes are still howling at the bottom of the horse pasture. I’ve had the shotgun loaded and sitting by the door all night, but nothing close enough to shoot at. It’s uncanny how they can be so far away and yet sound so close, and they make the creepiest sound.

I wish I had a dog. We’ve thought about getting one since last year, but I was kind of hoping we could wait until Cuzco is gone. He hates and fears dogs so much after his accident all those years ago that I’ve been concerned that he would leave home and never come back if we got one.

I do worry about the goats, though. Even if I hadn’t forgotten the fence, there would be other nights during the winter when I wouldn’t be able to turn it on because of the snow. Or if the charger had a problem or the battery died, I might have to wait some time to get it repaired. Nothing is foolproof, and I’ve often thought that it would be a good idea to have more than one “security system” in place. I don’t care what Cuzco thinks about it–I’m going to start making some phone calls and trying to track down a good livestock guardian dog as soon as it’s daylight. I won’t sleep properly until I’ve got someone out there patrolling this property at night. The horses have been great at getting rid of the bears, but they totally ignore the coyotes. I’ve tried telling them to be more helpful in this department, but it hasn’t left an impression. I should hope a dog would not be so indifferent.