Unexpected Encounters

This morning May 12th, 05 I let Rusty my dog out for his usual morning run. I heard loud frenetic barking – from a dog that doesn’t bark much. I went to see what was happening. Well, he was standing on his hind legs leaning on the wire fence, tail wagging and barking – you know that friendly kind of bark. I thought there must be a dog out there. That wouldn’t be too unusual because out where we live, ever so often a dog comes by to visit. So I watched. Sure enough, a big gray shaggy dog came up and he and Rusty visited – nose to nose, walking, running by the fence smelling each other and then the dog looked toward me – it wasn’t a dog – it was a coyote!!

Oh my!! Oh my!! I watched this miracle unfold. Then I began to worry – maybe the coyote has rabies – seems like he should run off – especially when I appeared. But he didn’t. I called Rusty and called and then demanded and he reluctantly came and the coyote ran away. The whole episode took my breath away.

Now Rusty is pacing in the house, obviously unhappy that he had been called away. I felt like an overprotective mother who was censoring his friends. I let him out after about 15 minutes – I couldn’t stand it any longer. I wanted to know what would happen. Rusty ran to the fence where the coyote was last seen, smelled around and came running back – there was nothing of interest there now. He ran around to the front porch to take a nap – and about 5 minutes later, I heard him run like crazy to the back and to the fence where he and the coyote met. Yes, the coyote came up they nosed each other and the coyote ran off and Rusty came back. But this time there was a calmness in him. It was as if they had said good by to each other and parting was ok.

It was an unexpected event, one that left me standing with my mouth open – not quite believing what I just witnessed.

I told some friends of this experience and each one said, “Did you get a photo?” No, I replied – I was too busy being in the moment. I didn’t even think of pictures.

Then I remember the time that my friend Dorothy and I went Whale Watching. We took a boat out of Provincetown, Ma. We had been out several hours and seen quite a few whales – at some distance and even some swimming close by. And then, a huge whale, right by the boat, stood straight up on its tail and then began to fall back into the water. I stood there with my mouth open watching this unbelievable sight. Not until the whale was falling back into the water did it occur to me to take a picture - too late. The camera was right there – around my neck. I was too busy watching this amazing sight. I could not take my eyes of the whale.

Another photo op missed.

But not all opportunities are missed. My friend, Lyn and I were coming back home from a trip to Cape Cod in 2000 to see dear friends. We were on country roads – farm land all around and we saw something in the field to the right. What was it? We looked, we questioned, we guessed – was it ducks, geese, birds, or turkeys. We got closer and Lyn was sure it was Snow Geese. Neither of us had ever seen them before. They were so beautiful! A flock of beautiful Snow Geese flying around the just harvested corn field, alighting in trees, moving from place to place in the field, making geese sounds and warily watching us. We parked the car on the side of the road and began taking pictures. Every time they moved – we moved. We had a great time taking pictures and were quite pleased with some of the shots. Obviously they were migrating and had found a meal and a place to stop for awhile. And of course, when we got home – we looked up Snow Geese, just to make sure we were right. Another treasured time!

These awesome unexpected brushes with nature leave me spellbound – whether they are recorded or not. They leave an indelible print in my mind and a deeper consciousness of nature and an overwhelming respect for nature. I have been enriched by being privy to these unexpected brushes.