Late Winter Clues

I took old dog for a little walk today.  It was a lovely sunny day after a string of gray and really cold days, so it seemed like a good time to get out. We never go far. Old dog begins the walk with enthusiasm and bounce but the end of the driveway, which is a long driveway by most measures, is about her limit and the walk back is slower and more labored than the walk out.  We are surrounded by fields and woods, so there is often not much to interrupt the flow of our walking, but today was different. The snow that fell a few days ago was crusty and dry and while most of the field to our east was unmarked, there was an area with a flurry of animal tracks, coming and going and sticking around to make a real impression. I am no wildlife biologist but I have seen enough tracks to recognize that the field had been visited by a rabbit or two, a squirrel, and a couple of canines, likeliest coyotes.  There was evidence of lots of canine sniffing and territory marking, especially around a couple of our little future Christmas trees. There appeared to have been frolicking, if coyotes frolic, and rolling in the snow and why not? Spring was in the air... even at -2 last night.  I don't think the coyotes caught the rabbit or squirrel because I think they were too engrossed in each other. They romped in a half dozen places, making circles in the snow, occasionally breaking the crust. Finally the tracks moved on but in such a funny way, not side by side or one after the other but leaving the most curious zigzagging trail. I think I know what it means, at least I am happy to think that I know.  Looking at the third picture, you may draw your own conclusion, and don't mind my footprints to the left of this picture.  This odd track carried on for about 30 feet, almost into the treeline, then it stopped and two sets of tracks took off in separate directions, then one stopped, reversed direction and followed the other set across the empty and otherwise unmarked field.   It was not a hard track to follow, but I guess I felt those coyotes deserved their rest, wherever they ended up.

I happen to like coyotes. I love hearing their calls in the dark of night. A coyote is a beautiful animal to watch when it is unaware of eyes upon it and it is moving smoothly across the field sniffing the air for mouse or vole.  A healthy coyote would perhaps make a magnificent pet but that is not meant to be. They are wild and should be left that way.  Somewhere there is a den and there will be little kits born there at the right time. The tribe increases for a while until someone decides to make war on the hilltop coyotes.  We will not interfere with their life out there. We will corral our chickens and call in the cats to keep them safe at night, and then we will leave the windows open when it gets a little warmer and listen for the yip and wail that calls to their friends to come and share what they have found.

This story brought back a memory from about a dozen years ago. Old dog was at that time a pup of about 9 months.  She had wandered down the field to the edge of the swamp when a young coyote emerged from the swamp. They approached each other slowly, stopped nose to nose with tails waving in the air, sniffed a bit, then both turned around and went home. We could almost see them smiling at each other, knowing they were cousins and happy to be in the same  neighborhood.  We should all be so peaceful.