A few nights ago, my brother, Matt, and I took our dogs for a walk. The last time we took our dogs for a walk in the area at dusk, we encountered a skunk… you can all guess how curious dogs with a skunk ended… this time around, we were walking near a cornfield, and I said we probably don’t want them in there, as skunks and raccoons are likely hanging out there and they’ll be after them again.
I spoke too late, as my dog Shadow, who is only 9 months old, was already deep in the cornfield exploring the sights and smells. We were about 1/3 of the way down the path alongside the cornfield when we heard the yips and howls and the barking… this time it wasn’t a raccoon or a skunk but a coyote that was trying to lure my puppy back to his den!
Nightfall was quickly approaching, and Shadow was so deep in the field that we could not see him; we could just hear the struggle. My brother’s dog, Clancy, barreled into the cornfield to address the situation. Meanwhile, Matt and I fled into the field, yelling to break up the calls and to get our dogs to follow us back home, not to be lured to chase the coyote.
Fortunately, they listened to us, and after what seemed like forever but was only a brief moment, the dogs came out of the cornfield and started to trot alongside us as we continued down the pathway. However, they were not the only ones that came out of the cornfield; the coyote was hot on our trail.
Our dogs enticed him, and he continued to follow us, yipping and howling, trying to get our dogs to follow him. My boys like to watch the I Survived series, and here I was thinking oh my goodness, I’m in an I Survived moment – we turned and made ourselves larger and yelled. When we turned, the dogs tried to lunge towards the coyote, so we had to keep telling them, “Let’s go.”
The coyote didn’t back down he kept coming at us… I wanted to run, but my brother reminded me that if we did, he’d think we were his prey… so we just kept walking and told our dogs, “let’s go.” After about ¾ of a mile, he was really close. We turned and yelled again, and Clancy charged at him. This time he stopped following us… We must have gotten out of his “territory” with hearts beating rapidly. We made it back to our car safely.
Three days later, from the tractor, Jeff took the photo below of the coyote playing in the field next to the cornfield… from the tractor, he’s not that scary!
It’s all about perspective.
The news is portraying the current real estate market with some “dusk” feelings. However, if we look at the market in the daylight, things are still quite appealing.
Yes, interest rates have risen, but opportunity still exists, and Jeff will remind you that he’s sold houses when interest rates were as high as 18%; rates are still less than half the price based on that!
We’re here to navigate you through the changing markets!