The Coyote

His hard features were solidly canine.  He appeared young – though it’s hard to gauge a coyote’s age when the best glimpse usually offered is at best a brownish grey brush of speed against a distracted mind.  The sky above one of numerous unnamed ridges in the Mohawk watershed had been clearly inpatient with the fall offerings—once deciding on rain, then wind, then silence, then opening the valley below to evaluate.  Pecos, Tara and I were finally on the descent with the horse clearly acknowledging the halfway point by infusing a new interest in the obvious sane turn toward the barn.  Tara, in her predictable dog way, merely looked up briefly and just continued to move down the abandoned logging road though ready to disregard her priorities at the slightest shift of the reigns. 

In my mind – he just suddenly appeared – though it’s more likely he had his eye on us for some time and simply ventured out onto the old road when he decided that we had enough legs between us that we had to be some sort of relative.  It went on that way; the coyote following far behind, then moving close enough for me to see some sort of question radiating from his eyes and ears – then he would fall back again, appearing to be content with the unspoken answer.  Tara, unconcerned with the arrival of the distant relative in the rear – continued to press on out front.  Mile after mile!

Once or twice I saw him lean into what I can only say appeared to be a floating sprint, up an overgrown spur, silently —disregarding the downed trees and washed out road as if he were only a poem of himself with the words spread like dust too far behind to collect!  Then, there he was again, behind – alert, engaged, but still private in his intentions.

We gathered briefly at the junction near the valley floor.  Tara moved left toward the twisted route back.  The coyote paused briefly to consider his options – then glided over a snag near the road and was gone.  There was no formal goodbye – just the sense that something important had happened on a day not otherwise taken!