Entry #6 - Night Walk

Night Walk

This picture is from March 5.

March 25, 2015

9:30pm

55°

It's a warm, clear night. I spent the evening catching up with a friend who lives on a street in the same development as Bayberry and I decide to walk the short distance home to enjoy this change in the weather. There's a light breeze that brings the smell of spring to my nose. I inhale deeply in an effort to embrace the earth. I’m looking up at the stars the first time I hear the distinct howl of a wolf. I chide myself and hear my Grampa’s voice in my head. There aren’t any wolves in Ohio, Chickadee.

I shake my head and pretend I feel silly for thinking it and continue on my way. I reason with myself. Wolves are endangered and almost extinct. The closest wolf is in Michigan, which is where I heard a live wolf’s cry for the first time. There are lots of dogs around the development, it’s probably a dog.

The howl sounds again and is joined by a second voice. They sound too much like wolves for me to ignore. The problem I have is: I’ve heard a wolf before tonight and absolutely nothing sounds like the large predator.

I pick up my pace and drag the phone from my coat pocket and make two phone calls. The first is to my mom and is simple: unlock the door. The second is to my friend who works for the Ohio Wildlife Management Department. He picks up on the second ring and I skip the pleasantries.

“What sounds like a wolf and is in Ohio?”

“Coy-dog or Coy-wolf. Why?”

“I’m walking home and I swear I heard two wolves howling. I was hoping you’d tell me I’m crazy.”

“You’re on Bayberry, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Coyotes killed a bunch of dogs over there just last summer, remember?”

“They don’t sound like coyotes.”

He began to explain and was cut off by the howling.

We were both silent.

“Holy… Is that the howl?”

“Yes.”

“Walk with your back straight and head up. Do not run, but pick up your pace. Are you armed?”

“No.”

“How far are you to home?”

“Another three minutes.”

Those three minutes were the longest of my life. I kept worrying that a large doglike creature was going to block my path or attack me from behind and tear me to bits. 

I arrived home safely and waited for my friend. We stood outside for a while and then he searched the wooded area around my home. It was like when you call a plumber and the toilet decides to work perfectly, no howls happened while he was out there. He set some traps and told me not to take my dog near the edge of the woods. He assured me they are probably hybrid coyotes of some kind, not wolves. That thought did not make me feel better.

I’ve heard the howls a few nights in a row now. I listened closely and they are definitely not coyotes. They almost sound human. My neighbor’s sons are visiting. They have always been crazy. Perhaps they were howling at the moon. Now that is a story I can get behind.