I was on my way from Carthage to the Racine Theater Guild with hardly a moment to spare – (it was important that I not be too late for Guys and Dolls rehearsal; it’s getting to be crunch time.) As I approached the Racine city limits on Green Bay Road I suddenly realized that a good sized coyote was loping along in the ditch – and it was all I could do to not slam on the brakes, throw the car in park, and leap out of the vehicle with my camera in hand and start snapping pictures. (For once I showed some modicum of restraint.) I ended up driving around the block (not that there’s city blocks when you’re still sort of out in the country) and as I whipped around to that same stretch of Green Bay Road, Wile E. Coyote was still there – apparently very interested in some sort of fast food bag or wrapper. And as I sat there at the intersection of Green Bay Road and Braun Road, I could not take my eyes off of this creature. True, it’s not exactly a Three-Toed Sloth or anything quite as exotic as that. But there is at least the hint of something utterly untamed which makes it all the more exciting to see one in one’s neighborhood, or better yet in one’s own yard. Of course, we have two gentle golden retrievers to worry about, and we always live in fear that when we put them out in the yard, they might tangle with a coyote under somewhat unfair circumstances. But I guess I like the idea of living someplace where – at least once in awhile- the deer and the antelope (and coyotes) play.
pictured: the coyote at the corner of Green Bay Road and Braun Road. I love the Do Not Enter sign right there, which almost seems like a sign erected to keep the coyote away. Good thing a coyote doesn’t know how to read!