Coyotes And Murphy's Law Huey Sandfort
The author, pictured here, doesn't just enjoy coyote hunting ... he thrives on it.
Heavy fog had stolen the color from my eyes, — only gray and black remained. A fog that lay heavy on the earth as if to smother all living things. I walked through its grip in magni-
I
fi ed silence just like the other creatures, creatures large and small that inhabit this magical place. Though they walk through it moving from food to water and back again, I move through it with a far sinister reason. I go to set a trap for one of the most cunning of this land’s inhabitants. A trap that, if he comes to it, will ensure he will forfeit his life to me. I move without sound to the place of ambush. The fog that embraces me is my clueless accomplice in treachery. The fog masks my movement to the meadow where I will set my trap. I will use a call, a simple plastic box with a speaker that makes sounds, sounds of those that are
t was morning on Saturday, the 18th of September, 2010.
One of the things the author likes about hunting coyotes is that they are intelligent, and thus offer a challenge.
being eaten alive and those that are about to be eaten. Possibly a call of challenge, or only those of crying puppies. The magical box has them all. I melt into the fog and move to the place where I will ambush the cunning coyote. I look skyward. My presence is
hidden, still gripped by the fog, but together the fog and I soon realize that another player has arrived to do its part in this drama. The gentle breeze has come to foil the presence of the fog ... to strip its tenuous grip from the land and force it to leave this place. The breeze has not come alone – he has brought along the fog‘s worst enemy. That enemy has made its presence known simply and elegantly by painting the undersides of the morning clouds a heavenly shade of pink. Soon, in the face of its two worst enemies, the fog can no longer maintain its hold on the land. It cowers and leaves in the face of its enemies. Like a mythical
creature of the night that cannot endure the light of day, it retreats back into the small low-lying places ... and then as by magic is gone. The wind and the sun have unknowingly and uncaringly again vanquished their foe for possession of this land. It has been neither victory nor defeat. It has been merely the eternal struggle of the wind, sun, and water. It’s a battle that will continue for eternity. Our presence is but a fl eeting shadow on the land. What a wonderful way to start my
fi rst day of coyote hunting. And now that all things are in perspective and we are done with the philosophy stuff we can turn to Murphy’s Law. As all coyote hunters know, Murphy’s Law is reality. And boy, was Murphy alive and well today. As the battle between the wind, sun, and water ended the humidity was at about 150 percent. I hit the remote con- trol on the caller and this sent the furry
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