When Asheton Rice and her husband began leaving food outside for wildlife visiting their yard, they never expected their handmade pottery to become part of the attraction.
The couple, who run a pottery business, enjoyed creating special ceramic bowls for the birds, squirrels, crows and other animals passing through their property. Each day, they filled the dishes with treats and watched their wild neighbors stop by.
Then, a few months into the routine, something strange started happening.
The bowls began disappearing.
A Mystery in the Backyard
At first, Asheton and her husband could not understand where the missing pottery was going.
They knew no other people had access to the yard, and the animals they usually saw eating from the dishes seemed unlikely suspects.
Birds, squirrels and crows were regular visitors, but the ceramic bowls were far too heavy for most of them to simply carry away.
With no obvious explanation, the couple decided to install cameras and find out what was happening.
The Thief Finally Appeared on Camera
When they reviewed the footage, the mystery was quickly solved.
Under the cover of darkness, a coyote wandered into the yard, approached one of the ceramic dishes, picked it up in his mouth and casually disappeared with it.
The couple could hardly believe what they were seeing.
Their pottery thief had four legs.
They eventually gave the coyote a name: Clarence.
Clarence Kept Coming Back for More
The first theft was not an isolated incident.
Clarence began returning on a regular basis, inspecting the bowls left outside before selecting one and carrying it off into the woods.
Night after night, the same routine continued.
The couple still had one big question, though: What was Clarence doing with all those bowls?
An AirTag Helps Solve the Second Mystery
Determined to locate the missing pottery, Asheton came up with a clever idea.
She placed an AirTag inside a new soup bowl and left it outside for Clarence.
Sure enough, the coyote eventually took the bowl.
This time, however, the couple could follow its location.
Using the GPS signal, they headed into the woods on what Asheton described as a pottery hunt.
And eventually, they found what they had been looking for.
A Secret Collection Hidden in the Woods
About 0.4 miles from the couple’s home, they discovered a collection of their ceramic bowls scattered through the forest.
Most surprisingly, nearly all of them were still completely intact.
Despite Clarence carrying the fragile pieces through the woods, they had apparently survived the journey without breaking.
Asheton said she was both thrilled and amazed by the discovery.
The bowls had even been arranged around the area in a way that made the spot look almost like Clarence had created his own outdoor pottery display.
They Let Clarence Keep One
Although the couple recovered some of their missing pieces, they could not bring themselves to take everything.
Clarence had clearly gone to considerable effort to build his unusual collection.
So they decided to leave one ceramic bowl behind for him.
It seemed like a reasonable compromise — especially because they knew he could always come back if he wanted another.
And he did.
Clarence Is Now a Regular Visitor
The coyote continues to visit the property almost every night.
By now, he has become one of the couple’s most familiar wild neighbors.
He does more than inspect the pottery, too.
According to Asheton, Clarence enjoys playing with plush toys left in the yard and occasionally bothering Rocky, one of the neighborhood raccoons.
And, of course, he still helps himself to a ceramic piece from time to time.
Or, as Asheton jokingly admitted, almost every night.
A Little Pottery Is a Small Price to Pay
Asheton and her husband continue leaving food outside for local wildlife, fully aware that another handmade bowl might occasionally disappear into the woods.
At this point, they have accepted it as part of the arrangement.
Clarence gets snacks, entertainment and the occasional addition to his pottery collection.
The couple, meanwhile, gets nightly visits from one of the most unusual — and apparently artistic — coyotes around.
For them, losing a bowl every now and then is a small price to pay for keeping their wild neighbors happy.