I've been feeling something watching me for weeks.

I couldn't have told you what it was, and if it hadn't made its presence known, I probably would have never had a clue.

It was early spring, and any time I was out feeding chickens, tending to my goats or milking cows, I'd sense the presence of something just behind me.

It was never foolish enough to let me have a look at it, and that may have led me to believe that it was afraid of me.

I'd turn around suddenly on my milking stool or with chicken feed ready to throw in my hand expecting to see a cat maybe some kind of stray dog there was never anything there

it wasn't until about three weeks after I had first felt the eyes that I found the dead goat my Myrtle was one of my older goats, an animal I had had since I moved out here after my husband died.

She was as good a goat as you could have, pretty good temperament, not what most people would call a butter, and generally pretty amiable as far as goats went.

I'd come out to do some milking and check on some kits that had just been born,

and she was lying dead right there in the middle of the paddock.

The other goats were giving her a wide berth,

and it was as if they were also a little afraid to get too close to her.

She had been ripped open from throat to groin,

and whatever it was had taken a pretty big bite out of her.

I didn't really know what to expect.

I knew the area I had had coyotes and a lot of problems with feral dogs, but I never had anything like this happen.

I called my neighbor, Mr. Ward, big old guy who's been here since just after World War II.

He helped me sometimes, and it's been a good neighbor to me since he knows that I'm new at this.

He shook his head, said exactly what I've been thinking.

Yeah, looks like coyotes got her.

Coyotes? I haven't seen any coyotes around this year.

Well, it's still pretty early in the year.

Hasn't been really what we would consider spring for more than a couple of weeks.

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