7:45am
ominous clouds over northern mountains
overcast
slight breeze
good walking weather...
eery silence
distant airplane
alternating gait thump
from my walking stick
jingling of Izzy's tags...
peeping of quails
hedge trimmer humming
one street over
clear blue skies boasting
white fleeting clouds
over southern mountains...
complete stillness
breeding strange instincts
as I connect
to the environment...
this Saturday morning
we walk alone...
hark! a neighbor
and his Burmese,
dog friendly, cat, Rocky...
the cat greets us
with anticipatory joy
scampering across the street
talking, asking
for attention
Izzy balks, confused,
barks
stands beside me
rigid
with downward tail...
I stroke Rocky's belly
converse and enjoy
his loud purr...
I inquire
on coyote sightings...
"none in years"
my neighbor responds...
I share the coyote kill
of almost two months ago
informing also
of the mountain lion kill
three weeks ago...
just then,
a coyote, with
beautiful large pointed ears
bushy tail
lean body
with camouflage colors
trots in
from the back of my neighbor's yard...
I warn my neighbor
as he scoops up Rocky...
the coyote
sniffs the air
smelling the scent
of Izzy and Rocky
focusing on us
standing its ground
I take my dog whisperer
powerful stance
one arm on my hip
one arm stretched out
gripping my walking stick...
intense
maternal instincts
surge through me,
strengthening me
as I ready for battle...
still,
the coyote stands firm
then moves
closer...
my neighbor remarks
"its not scared is it?"
nope.
flipping my walking stick
I tap noisily on the street...
nothing.
instinctively, we rush forward
stomping our feet
moving toward it...
the coyote
nimbly lopes across the yard
into the back yard
of his next door neighbor
and we watch
as he jumps down
off a block wall
into a back yard neighbors yard
Another neighbor
comes outside
telling us he just saw
a coyote in his back yard...
we talk
concerned
yet realizing
the reality
living within
and among wild life...
they were, here first...
I call my husband
wanting him to
regret not walking with us,
instead
he tells me he
is driving to pick me up...
Izzy and I continue up
the street
a female neighbor comes outside
telling me a coyote
was lying in wait
for her neighbor's three cats
it has happened before
the coyote knows
the cats are there...
I ask my husband
to drive along
while we walk
as another neighbor
walks up with his dog
after telling him
he concludes it is the
same coyote who
killed our neighbor's Yorkie
he said it was a female coyote...
I regret
not taking a picture
of the coyote
with my cell phone...
yet wonder
if the male neighbor
had not been with me...
outside, the wind now
is whipping about,
dark cloud haze
with stop and start
rain...
perfect weather
for hunting...
~dkb~
6 comments:
Yeesh! That's scary and too close for comfort. We have coyotes around us too and we think our last outdoor cat was caught by one. That's why our cats now live indoors!
Wow, Donna, you were brave and I love the way you told the story of your experience.
Last week Doc and Dodger were in back and a coyote came walking down the open space behind us. Dodger barked once and then just paced the fence line until it was gone. I was extra alert on our walk later that night.
wow! that would be so scarey. good thing that your neighbor was with you. it sounds like this coyote is getting very brazen.
Oh dear, if she's eating people's pets, there will be trouble, even if she WAS here first, Donna. Keep me posted on how this turns out. You were certainly brave!
Really well written story there! Thank goodness you were guarding your little Izzie well!
Sorry, I meant to say really good poem - not story!
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