27 Comments
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Sean Hotchkiss's avatar

'Can I pat him?' really got me, too.

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Think of it a lot lately!

Linda Thompson's avatar

How do we communicate? Let me count the ways: Crying, patting, cawing, rock throwing, speaking Spanish (or any language), even sitting in the sun with eyes half-closed and, most likely, a satisfied grin.

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

I love that!

Rona Maynard's avatar

You see the beauty and the ruthlessness of the coyote in the same moment. Now I can see what you see and be grateful for a fresh perspective.

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Thank you. I see them every day so it’s easier to see all sides. We are having a heat wave right now and those coyotes are having a hard time

Rona Maynard's avatar

In some Toronto neighborhoods, people are buying spiked suits to protect their dogs from coyotes. Emotions are running high.

Michèle Breton's avatar

Great writing! (I love the coyote and the crows) within your creative stories! I'm a new free subscriber, but I will definitely keep an eye out for more of your writing! ✨

epob's avatar

it’s always so lovely to read your voice.

Katya Andresen's avatar

I love this piece of writing. So vivid. So beautiful.

Mesa Fama's avatar

Thank you for this, Deirdre. You remind me to look and listen and actually see. 🩵

I love that the crows warned you. I love the “can I pat him”. I love the lemon tree conversations with the man on the bike.

And the sunning satisfied coyote.

The thread of connection through all of it keeps tugging on me.

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Thanks, Mesa… I always love the undercurrents.

Mesa Fama's avatar

Me too.

Jennylff's avatar

Thank you. This touched my soul🐦‍⬛

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Thanks for reading it!

Miguel Tejada-Flores's avatar

So many things in this Snap I wanted to comment on, or mention, or thank you for, or talk about how some of them had resonated in my mind or feelings, but there isn't time for all of them, not even half, so I'll just stick to two. The first is about coyotes. I moved from SoCal up to Oregon some decades ago, and learned a lot more about them than I ever knew before. They are really smart. And they work together. And it's a really good thing for Nino that you didn't let him go when he thought he wanted to try chasing them. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, you hear them singing. Or calling out their small expressions of victory. That the hunt worked, that tonight they will get to eat. They're really a lot like us, but with less subterfuge I think. I've come to respect them more than I ever did before.

The other thing is about 'limón'. Some time ago, I spent several months working on a television production in Mexico. Because I was the writer, that gave me an excuse to ask everyone else all kinds of stupid questions which nobody minded cause writers are the Curious Georges of the production. In Mexico almost everyone has a nickname, no one uses their normal given or birth name, you just know people by their nickname; and the hardest working and smallest guy on the crew was called 'Limón'. When I asked how he got the name, everyone just laughed. Turns out he'd been working on another crew under dangerous conditions and they all had to wear hard hats all the time, and everyone else's hard hat was orange, but he had the only yellow one. 'When I put it on, I looked just like a lemon,' he said. And when everyone laughed the 2nd time, he was laughing the loudest, and I got to laugh too.

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Ha.! Thanks so much for reading. I always love your comments.

Edward Truncale's avatar

Really hit the spot. Sometimes, less is more. Like a sip of a nice Pinot Grigio,

Lisa Keller's avatar

I think Percy is watching the coyote from his own vantage point, right along with you. <3

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Ha, Without a doubt! I’m so glad you saw this. Percy is my guy.

Deanna Wilk's avatar

Loved these moments of connection. I think every instance here stems from an emotional reaction of concern or sympathetic joy.

Deirdre Lewis's avatar

Thanks Deanna, I think you’re right.

Wendy Varley's avatar

Love your coyote encounters.