![\"coyote](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/coyote-1761-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a01\/1000, f\/11, ISO 500, Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I took lots of photos of this coyote as it first gnawed on a duck carcass,\u00a0 then proceeded to walk along this rocky spit jutting out into the lake and\u00a0stopped to inspect its own reflection.\u00a0 Even though I liked this image with the raised paw I almost deleted it because of what appeared to be a thick wire of some sort behind the front feet.\u00a0 Debris like that isn’t unusual in the area so that’s where my mind went and that’s where it stayed.\u00a0 The\u00a0“wire” hadn’t been visible in the other images but I had assumed that the “activity” of the coyote had popped it up into view for that one frame.\u00a0 I used other\u00a0photos for that previous post and haven’t visited these images since.<\/p>\n Until yesterday.\u00a0\u00a0As I was reviewing some images I noticed the wire again and immediately realized my interpretive error when I looked at two\u00a0earlier images.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/1000, f\/11, ISO 500, Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Two clicks previously the left front foot of the coyote is hidden behind the point of the spit…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a01\/1000, f\/11, ISO 500, Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n and as it is raised in the next\u00a0frame\u00a0it’s clearly covered with mud.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So now it becomes obvious that the “wire” in the original image\u00a0is really a column of thick, muddy water being pulled up and forward through\u00a0the air by the foot of the animal.\u00a0 In the isolated image the water column (and its reflection) may be distracting but in a sequential series I think it would add to the story.\u00a0 Now that I know what’s really<\/em> going on I wish I’d included this image in the original post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Much ado about nothing I suppose but these are things I hate to miss and it was a good lesson for me.\u00a0 Some of you may have known (or suspected) immediately what the “wire” really was but my mind went elsewhere and that’s where it stayed.\u00a0 I suspect it might be a little like some types of optical illusions – some folks see it and some folks don’t.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Addendum:\u00a0 In comments several folks said that the “item” in question looked to them like it might be a stick so I’ve taken the liberty of posting another version of the image (below)\u00a0that has been cropped heavily to show more detail.\u00a0<\/em> Personally, I still believe it to be a\u00a0column of thick, muddy water.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n