One day, years ago, a day not unlike today, with large snowflakes gently falling from a heavy grey sky, I saw a coyote. I was riding my bike along a forested trail near the river, on my way to work. The trail crossed the train tracks and I dismounted my bike to carry it across the rails. A hundred metres or so down the tracks I saw a coyote, confidently trotting towards me, lost in his thoughts. Then, it caught site of me, paused, considered its options, turned toward the woods, and dissapeared.

I live in a house near the centre of the city. Behind my house is a small matural park of long grasses, a spring, and a solitary tree. When i first move into the house, I used to hear coyotes howling and barking in the still of the night.

It’s wonderful to think that we can be so close to nature even in the centre of a city of a million people. I’d like to think that you just have to open your mind to the experience and nature will enter. Sadly, I haven’t seen a coyote in my neighborhood for several years. Did the coyotes leave, or did I simply stop looking and listening for them? I’d love to see a coyote in the city again.