coyote and deer

In the winter, when the bitter, shivering winds blow over the coastal mountains, the animals of the chaparral find there way off the rocky hills. The shrubs and prickly growth that offers some shade in summer, is not dense enough to warm the animals in winter. In the valley where we dwell, the redwoods create a chamber of warmth and fellowship for nature to survive. Around each bend a different animal can be seen. The scrawny, mangy, delirious coyote can be seen walking slowly across path. Only the sudden awareness of our presence sends him darting over hill, and behind trees. The delicate, full figured doe, and her adolescent sons, gracefully trod across lush, winter meadows. Protected by the maze of trees and ferns, the deer have quick escape from tired predators. They exhale in winter, and hold out for the romping of spring. Short, knobby antlers reveal the youth of bucks, trying their new found crowns, they collide dizzily in play. The days pass uneventfully peaceful. Coyotes wander, in search for easy food, or a slab of sunshine to bask in before shadows fall. Deer live free, treading lightly, settling under fallen trees, and hallow stumps, sheltered from harm, warmed by the embrace of the forest. Together we live in winter. We learn to rest, value, prepare, and be present in the day.