Where the Wild Things Are!

Coyote Alert

“Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and numbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me—I am happy.”

                                                  Hamlin Garland

At five-thirty this morning, I opened my front door to put the recycling out. There, running down the middle of the street, was a lone coyote. It glanced in my direction but didn't slow down. I watched until it was out of sight. There have been reports of coyotes in this area for some time, but I had never seen one, never heard their distinctive howl. How very strange to have an animal as wild and reclusive as a coyote living in a city so far from its native environment.

We have other wild species, of course, possum, racoons, white-tail deer, red-tailed hawks and the occasional eagle and falcon. We're on the flyway for migrating water fowl of all sorts. Destruction of habitat has forced many wild species to adapt or die. This poor coyote looked lean and hungry. I'll bet he's learned to eat cat-food left out for the feral cats that live all around.

Even though most people consider coyotes dangerous, I'm glad to know that something of the wild kingdom lives around me. We've gotten way too prissy in this gentrified neighborhood. People manicure their lawns and dump tons of chemicals to keep them green. They spend serious cash having professional landscaping done. And then, of course, all that greenness has to be watered everyday, so sprinkler systems must be installed.

I got a nasty dressing down one morning last week because one of my very small dogs made a very small poop on the street and I didn't pick it up. A man, who's house was on the other side of the road, came out on his porch and yelled at me for five minutes about how sick and tired he was of people letting their dogs poop just anywhere. He and his neighbors were proud of their properties, and I'd better not let him catch me again, he said, and then he yelled, “I mean it! I know where you live!” It sounded awfully close to a threat. There's no neighborhood ordinance against dog poop and it wasn't even in anyone's yard. So much for neighborliness. Dogs poop in my yard, too. Let's face it, dogs poop---they mark their territory. It's one of the few wild things we haven't domesticated out of them.

I should put up a sign on my un-manicured lawn---Coyotes Welcome Here! You Can Even Poop In My Yard! As adapted as they've become, they might be able to read it.

Thank you for reading my blog. It isn't everyday that you get to read about the spirituality of dog poop and lone coyotes. I'll try to do better tomorrow. If you live in Russia, or China, or India, please know that all Americans are not as crazy as I am.

In the spirit,

Jane