the woods behind my house

were once full of wonder.

The woods behind my house are filled with coyotes. Or so I was told as a kid; I have not actually seen one myself.

I have, however, spotted plenty of squirrels and the occasional herd of deer — these are prey animals, and if what I learned in school about the food chain is true, there must also be predators. And why not coyotes to fulfill this purpose?

Sometimes I thought I heard yips and growls in the night, which frightened me. This was the coyotes' other purpose: to guard the divine natural wonders that lay within the woods.

When I was five or six, a neighbor kid told me that deep in the woods was a secret pond filled with frogs and fish, an oasis where birds nested in the cattails and deer hung their heads to drink. He showed me the evidence: a bucket full of tadpoles, wriggling around in muddy water. I was astounded and became determined to find it.