You might remember how much sad I was that I would no longer hear coyotes in the middle of the night back in Lafayette.  The first time I ever heard that sound was while camping  in Death Valley back in 1982.  I finding it haunting and primal and never tire of hearing it.

Anyway, I’m back in coyote land – in spades.  I actually now live in an area where there is concern about small pets and children.  I am going to pass over that concern for now since I don’t have any small children or small pets anymore.  Everyone is working on the issue and I would support any efforts at relocation for aggressive coyotes.

They are CLOSE.  We had our door open last week on a beautiful warm evening and I swear it sounded like it was in our back yard or at least on our slope beyond our backyard.  The dogs next door were going insane and even Ed got off the couch to offer a few warning barks.  The next morning I offered to get Al some earplugs if the coyotes were too loud.  He replied, to my suprise, that  he loved the coyotes, but said he could have lived without the dogs getting involved in the whole thing, like some kind of late night gang war.

Last night was the cutest thing I ever heard.  It must have been a young puppy coyote.  His little howl was squeakier somehow and not as long, and his little barks were puppy barks.  I just laughed out loud in my bed and wanted to go cuddle him for heaven’s sake!  I never realized, when I was hearing the coyotes far off, that there is a bark that accompanies each howl.  Howl bark bark, howl bark bark, howl bark bark.

The coyote is esteemed in Native American culture and, this is very simplified, but she is the symbol of wisdom and fun.  Her stories teach us how to be playful and humorous in our serious endeavors, and allows herself to be the butt of jokes at times when she has acted foolishly.

Sounds like Looney Tunes had it just about right with Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner.  Me-beep.

Have a wise and playful day…