23Feb2009

This is the time of year between the last gasp of winter and the springtime chaos. My favorite season of the year on Spruce Hill is fast coming to a close, and I needed to hike the hill once more to get a feel for it before it changes dramatically over the next few months.

The trees that encircle the hilltop field carry fresh scars from the ice storm---yellow gashes stand out against the dull winter landscape. Several dozen robins flashed through the woodlands, dining happily on ice wine grapes. The view to the east of Knockemstiff Hollow where it spills out onto the Paint Creek plains glows golden with scattered shafts of sunlight slicing through the cloud cover. A fruit-covered sumac has fallen onto the path, which is now strewn with bits and pieces of diners' red crumbs.

No salamander evidence yet at the farm pond. At Orchid point, I gaze out over the valley…no snow remains anywhere in the valley below, yet the Earth under my feet remains blanketed in the white stuff. As I and my companions begin the walk across the hilltop field on the NPS path, a northern harrier cruises low over the field northeast of the pond. Then my canine companion sniffs the air suspiciously. I turn and look in the direction she points. A dark, low, hefty canine form glides stealthily and silkily through the tall weeds, fading quickly into the cover of the distance. I'm sure I would have missed its passage, had I not been tipped off by Taku. No chase ensues; there is mutual respect for the domestic and wild barriers.

After some investigation, this is what I discovered about eastern coyotes. They typically weigh 30-50 lbs. and are 48-60 inches long, almost twice the size of their close relative, the western coyote. They have long legs, thick fur, a pointy snout, a drooping bushy black-tipped tail and range in color from a silvery gray to a grizzled, brownish red. Though coyotes are often mistaken for a domestic dog hybrid, recent genetic research has attributed the eastern coyote's larger size and unique behavioral characteristics to interbreeding with Canadian gray wolves. Unlike the wolf or domestic dog, coyotes run with their tail pointing down.

The final gift of the day lay at the end of my walk where the southwest corner of the isthmus rock wall overlooks Paint Valley towards Bourneville. The setting sun peeks out between fast-moving storm clouds, painting the valley with a golden-pink wash and turning the hills and ridges that gorgeous, smoky, blue-ridge color. It's been one of those special Spruce Hill days, once again.