Early early in the morning today, long before the sun was ready to make an appearance, I woke up to a familiar sound.
When I first moved here, to this home, I did not know what to expect. When I first heard the howls of the coyotes in the 100 acres behind us I was intrigued and, admittedly, a little nervous. We have two huskys and they often think they’re wild animals: my concern was that they would join in the reverie with the coyotes and coax them over to where the dogs were. Coyotes and dogs, not such a good mix I’ve been told, so my nerves got the better of me.
Early this morning, when the coyotes greeted each other in the back 100 acres with their yips I had a completely different experience than I did that first time: the noise calmed me, it was another part of living in the country that I have come to love, it has sunk into my bones like vitamin d to sunshine, those sounds are part of the natural cycle of life.
Today I realized that I would not be privy to events such as this when I move in 56 days. I was so moved by that thought that I felt like joining in with the howl….the ecstatic voices united in a chorus of community from a pack of coyotes is such a thrill for me to listen to and I wonder how that will be replaced when I move…I wonder and I also know that this will be another leaving for me.
We are moving into an area that is not as rural as this, we will be moving into a small town with houses on streets, and driveways placed beside each other, and many many more people around: animals don’t generally make their homes in areas that are more populated. I’ll miss the herd of deer in my backyard, the multitudes of birds, the raccoons, ground hogs, rabbits and yes the coyotes too…
This day, on my Summer Of Leaving, I recognize that I am leaving my natural environment behind me for a human community…I wonder what that’s going to be like.
