A few mornings ago I was rudely awakened at 5:00 AM. What yanked me out of a deep sleep was high pitched whiny, shrill screaming, or so it seemed. It took me only milliseconds to realize that what I was hearing was a pack of coyotes. They were so loud that I thought they were right out in the field by our house, but it seems they were a little further away than that. Sure coulda fooled me at the time!
My first concern was for the young calves in the herd out in the pasture, but later I learned that the cattle were content and unconcerned. Perhaps the pack was hunting deer. Then this morning on my walk I discovered hundreds of porcupine quills along both sides of one section of the road. Maybe the older coyotes were teaching their young to hunt. Could that have been the final result of one animal’s life, one conquest of the hunt?
It is always startling to me when coyotes begin their communication so suddenly, increasing in volume as they all chime in … somewhere out there in the night. It sends chills down one’s back to hear them howl, yip, bark, almost scream … a few at a time, then in pleasing unison across the hills to one another. Their voices – young mingling with mature – carry far, filling the darkness with haunting, unnerving song that rises and falls, then just as abruptly — stops. A few final rambunctious young ‘yip yips’, then nothing. Silence.
Amazing, fascinating, alarming. Spooky.
Have you encountered something in your life that has come with just such surprise? Something that has left you quaking in your slippers? Have you been awestruck? Or has it shown you something more amazing, something that you didn’t know about yourself?
Has it inspired you to write, dream, attempt something new, or maybe even change course? Do you feel emboldened?
What has awakened you lately?
Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂
Polilla Writes 