Chance Encounters with the Coyote

I started this morning sitting on the bank of Shoemaker Creek waiting for the beaver to appear. I waited and waited. I kept one eye on its lodge and the other on the surface of the water. My imagination kicked in, I visualized the coyote stepping out on the beaver's lodge as it had one week ago.

I remember that in total I saw the coyote three times that day:

Driving home from work was the very first time when I glanced left across to the trail as I passed and there it was, a coyote, backlit with the sun streaming along the pathway. I wanted to stop but knew that I shouldn't and what was the point anyway, I didn't have a camera with me.

By the time I had taken care of my chores at home that morning and finally taken a position at the lake, it was already a little too late to watch the beaver, but I waited in hope. Two families of geese swam down towards me along the Creek and then took to feeding on the aquatic plants that had spread over much of the surface water.

I watched them feed for a while and then a sudden movement from the bank had all of the geese rushing into the middle of the Creek. I saw the movement through my peripheral vision, it was a sandy coloured blur that could only have been a coyote or perhaps a fox. The geese were still alarmed and I knew that the predator had not moved on.

I noticed movement here and there from behind the branches and grass on the far bank and then a coyote stepped out for a few seconds onto the beaver's lodge. It looked up and down at the geese and then straight at me, this was too perfect of an opportunity to miss, but my lens would not focus because of all the branches in front of the coyote.

I withdrew my lens from the coyote, found something at approximately the same distance and took focus, I swung the camera back and click, just as the coyote turned its head away and this was all that I captured.

I was so disappointed and decided that I should also give up on seeing the beaver. Perhaps a walk through the far side of the Park might present another opportunity of seeing the coyote and so I set off. I was much more careful than usual. I hid the sound of my footsteps and made sure my movement was not visible. 

I came out of the undergrowth at the fire pit and knowing that the turtles had laid eggs here in the sandy soil I decided to take a step back and observe from a distance for a while. If my father who has a keen hunter's instinct had been present for what happened next I'm sure he would have laughed at me. A rabbit broke cover onto the trail and with my mind being tired after work, it made the simplest connection. Instead of realizing that the rabbit was being chased, I simply thought, oh... a bunny! 

The bunny was of course closely followed by the coyote who took one look at me fumbling for my camera and disappeared back into the undergrowth. My disappointment grew, and sometimes you have to realize that it is just not your day. Three sightings of the coyote and not one good photo to show from any of them.

Anyway, that was a week ago, now back to this morning. The beaver eventually appeared and I watched as it went about its chores. 

Paddling in the mud for a snack.

Stripping the bark from a sapling.

And, just as the sun came up over the trees, the beaver went to rest.

It was also time for me to follow the sun whose golden rays led me to the chipmunk on its favoured log pile.

A cyclist slowed down on the pathway as I was taking photos and so I moved back so as not to be an inconvenience, not realizing that the cyclist was actually my fellow photographer friend Phil (fake name) who was completely unrecognizable in his cycling gear. He for some reason has this insane notion that exercising a lot is necessary. I know, crazy! Anyway, we exchanged pleasantries and as all guys do, boasted on the general dimension of what we had taken in our absence. We both complained about the mosquitoes and how all the leaves were getting in the way of what we were trying to photograph and then Phil shouted, "A coyote" and pointed down the path.

And sure enough, a coyote came trotting up the path towards us.

It didn't take the coyote long before it realized we were there. It paused for a moment and then veered off into the trees.

I recounted my story to my friend on how I had missed the coyote a week ago, and here it just walks right towards us on the path! We both acknowledged how we have no control over what we see or when, and just then the coyote reappeared from the path that leads to a grass clearing and continued to walk off along the road and past the water processing plant.

Silhouetted against the road, it's clear to see how slender the coyote looks without its winter coat.

I was thankful for the chance encounter with my friend, as without his eyes looking the other way I would have completely missed the coyote again.

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