Calling All Coyotes

Friday morning, Dave and I were awakened at 3:20 a.m.!  

No, Little was not sick, or scared.  The dog, surprisingly, didn't need to go outside.  And the cat wasn't releasing a hairball on to the carpet.  Thank God!  

So what woke us?

Just our friendly, neighborhood coyote.  No, we have not moved to the country, and, yes, I did say coyote.  You know, those elusive, quiet, suburban-stalkers of the night!  Well, apparently, our local guy is still in training.  Or, someone forgot to tell him the rules, because he was neither elusive nor quiet.  He was  howling like a banshee!

Once Mr. realized what was making all the racket, he threw the bed-covers back, and, like a farmer ready to protect his hen house, ran down the stairs to the front door muttering, "damn coyote!" There was no showdown in the street, however.  For upon seeing Dave in the doorway, under the glow of the porch light, that coyote high-tailed it up the street, barking and howling the whole way.

I don't know what he was doing in our neighborhood.  Hopefully, not looking for a tasty pet to eat. Perhaps he was scared, lost, looking for his pack.  I haven't spent enough time in "The Wild," to even make an educated guess. From experience, though, I do know the sound of a youngster in distress. And this guy was, definitely, upset.  And I drifted back to sleep, hopeful he would soon find what he was looking for.  (and thankful it wouldn't be my cat who, also annoyed by the early wake-up call, was now on alert and looking out the window)

Later that morning, Mother Nature reminded me that coyotes aren't the only wild animals I share my city with.   As I rode my bike through a foggy, mist-covered Pt. Defiance Park,  I saw two little bucks: one, wearing only a single spike; the other: a beautiful three-point.  The first, was still young enough to allow his curiosity to get the best of him.  Thus, he just stood there, across the road from me, gazing at me with his beautiful, big-browns. The latter, however, was totally and completely unimpressed with me.  His age and wisdom have taught him that while cycling clad humans pose no danger, we simply aren't worth their time.  So off he went.

Due to my failed attempts to capture either of these beauties on film, (taking pictures with an Iphone, while wearing cycling gloves is not an easy task) I decided to ride a second lap, hopeful I'd see them, or their friends, again.  Sadly, I did not.  Feeding time was done; they had hunkered down,  somewhere in the bowels of the park, to sleep away the rest of the day.  I did, however, see a few squirrels and chipmunks, and heard a very well-hidden bullfrog.  It was the raccoon I encountered on my way out of the park, though, that stopped me in my tracks.  The look he gave me, from the side of the road, where, just moments before, I'm sure, he'd been sharpening his claws, made me sweat more than the big hill  leading up to the Five-Mile-Drive.  I just knew he was sizing me up, trying to decide if I was worth the ass-kicking that, apparently, he felt I deserved for not bringing him any food to eat.  Where's that coyote when you need him? 

Obviously, we aren't going to be friends with all of nature's creatures.  We do, however, have to share our world with them.  And I'm glad that, today, they reminded me of this.  So, while I wasn't happy about being woken up in the middle of the night, I did enjoy hearing the sounds of nature right outside my door. Additionally, I hope that little coyote is okay; because, from now on, keeping the raccoons away from my house is his job.  

xoxo

S-