Thursday, December 4, 2003

Good evening! Tonight, I am finally launching my weblog. Learning to drive the exciting way, by getting behind the wheel and putting foot to pedal. My good buddy, Dave Richey (www.daverichey.com), is already going full-tilt with his blog. I'm going to make my first post brief, but I guess what kick-started me into this at last was the latest in just too many remarkable (and thus, reportable) incidents since August, when I thought I was going to get started, but... You know how it goes. Yesterday afternoon, while driving north on a downright busy stretch of Port Washington Road, right alongside I-43, I spotted a scraggly coyote standing in the middle of the road, one eye on traffic, the other, as it turned out, on a very flat road kill. So flat, I couldn't tell what it used to be, and I think Mr. Coyote didn't much care. I pulled over to watch, and the coyote trotted to the road pizza, grabbed an edge and ripped part of it off the road. Then he loped across the road and ate his prize in the front yard of an apartment complex. Finishing his first course, he trotted back to the road kill and ripped the rest of it off the road. Again, watching for cars, he trotted back to the yard and proceeded to tear bite-size chunks off the hapless coon/bunny/possum until it was gone. His tail was nearly threadbare and his coat was, too, so I imagine he had mange, but there was nothing wrong with his appetite! A couple weeks ago, I watched a bigger, better-clothed coyote scratch himself from chin to chitlins for 10 minutes in Estabrook Park, about a mile from this latest encounter. Milwaukee's urban cowboys are doing just fine, it seems! Before I sign off for the night, here's a teaser from the first story I have posted on this blog, "Whitetail Solitaire": "Sitting tight is a strategy that works well on opening weekend, when other hunters are moving deer. And it works when the rut or weather changes make deer move on their own. For the hunter who has sharpened his woodsman skills, though, a slow-action day is the perfect time to climb down from his tree and play whitetail solitaire." Read the full story under "Stories." This is the unedited version of a story that appeared in the November 7, 2003 edition of Wisconsin Outdoor News (www.wisconsinoutdoornews.com). Stay tuned for more coming soon.... 9:19:13 PM    comment []