Monday Blues: Coyote Finally Catches Roadrunner

In those old television cartoons Coyote was never successful. No matter how much thought, time, money, or effort he put into his schemes, the end result was always the same. Failure. Plummeting, crushing, exploding failure.

After years of trying, after years of failing, your author can announce that he has finally succeeded, with a few rapid clicks of the shutter, in capturing Roadrunner in the act. While climbing the road along the backside of Bonelli Park a couple weeks ago, a road which, not un-coincidentally is also known as the Coyote Trail, Roadrunner crossed ahead of me from right to left. Running through some dried grass he surmounted a rock, where he perched or posed long enough for me to break out the camera and snap his portrait. He turned his head first to the left, back to the right, then turned completely around and stared directly at me.  After that, it was back across the road in that neck-stretched-forward gait, that he normally uses to such speedy effectiveness in making good his escape.

This is not typical Roadrunner behavior. I have tried for years to take his photo at Bonelli; he has always teased and taunted, running across my path, stopping just long enough to fool me into believing I could get my camera out for a photo. Always, he is off at a run just as I bring the camera up to my eye. Always, I have been left standing empty-handed; fooled once again. Each time I could hear it in my head as he sped away - meep, meep!

This Roadrunner is different, he wants to be caught, he is a camera hog.

Two weeks after my first success, at the exact same spot, Roadrunner appeared once again. Our little engagement followed the same pattern - appear, pose, retreat. It seems as though we have reached a detente in our conflict, however temporary it may prove to be. I am not sure what brought the change about. Weariness at the game? Perhaps Roadrunner decided to take pity on the old Coyote? Whatever. I'll take it. The no-Roadrunner-photo blues are gone. I finally have my picture.

Blue: A color, a mood or emotion, a genre of music. Tune in each Monday for another installment of the Blues, with a cycling twist.