A Sweet Encounter

It has been a week of blissful summer - the way summer is meant to be. Blue skys and fluffy white clouds. Decent temperatures and warm sunshine.The kind of time to spend every available minute outdoors.

To take advantage of this gift of good weather after a horrific summer, we decided to meander the gravel roads through our favorite wildife refuge. And received another gift - a chance encounter with a coyote.

I saw him first as he rounded a bend on the road ahead. At first, we thought it was a fawn, although late in the season for small baby deer. Alert, he (or she) stopped and looked at us, down the stretch of road that separated us from him. We turned of the car and sat motionless to see what he might do. Often wildife sightings are brief, before a surprised animal takes off for the safety of the woods.

Not "our" coyote! He walked towards us several yards, then stopped again and stared at us. He seemed as curous about us as we were about him. Perhaps we were his wildlife viewing for the day. We waited and he repeated the pattern - walking towards us a short distance and stopping. He came to six or seven feet of the car. Then made his decision to head into the trees. We let out a collective breath of awe.

Perhaps he was a young coyote, curious about the world around him, even though he was full size. No question, he was a beautiful animal and in no hurry. His alert ears pointed upward as if to hear who or what this strange apparition in his refuge might be. His healthy coat was a blend of rust and greys.

Not the first time we have seen coyotes, but never with such an opportunity in which time stood still. Usually they streak across the land, wary of the potential danger humans represent. Or we see them hanging on fence posts in the west, desiccated in the hot sun, the life drained from them. And we have precious memories of hidden coyotes singing to each other in the dusk. But never this creature staring at us as if he had all the time in the world.

A good reminder slow down enough to be curious and attentive. You never know what you might see.