Bait

We had four new calves born just last week.  The are about twice as tall as the Breakfast Burritos and haven't learned to run away from them yet, so everyone is having a good time.

New calves bring coyotes, though, and for the last few days I've seen one in the pasture across the road later in the morning than I ordinarily would.  Fortunately, like the next-door horses, they startle to a rousing chorus of "Zip-a-dee-do-dah," so we can continue unaccosted.  (If you ever hear of a bear singing Zip-a-dee-do-dah, you'll know he ate me...)

This morning, though, there was coyote poop (I am an expert on poop if you need one) in the middle of our lane, up near the house.  Coyotes do their business in the middle of the road, which was probably the inspiration for the collisions between Wile E. Coyote and the Acme truck.  Anyway, I'm told that coyotes leave their poop in the road as a message - a warning - to other coyotes (works for me too).  

A vet told me once that the way a pack of coyotes trap domestic dogs is to send a single decoy out as bait to where the dog will see it and give chase.  The rest of the pack waits in tall grass or trees for the decoy to run into the center of the circle, and when the dog follows, the pack closes the loop and the dog can't escape.  Desayuno Burrito.  That's Spanish (surely all coyotes are bilingual) for "Breakfast Burrito."

This is how The Enemy operates too.  He comes around when we're (figuratively) sleeping, distracted by the worries or the shiny things of life.  Our brother, Peter, warns that we should keep watch, because our Adversary walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Like our coyote friends, The Roaring Lion sleeps during the day and stalks by night, and leaves scat (temptations) behind in the middle of our path.  The Lord pointed out to Cain that he should focus on not stepping in the poop, because Sin was out to get him and ready to pounce.  We can follow temptation into the trap and be lost - or we can resist the urge to chase after it.

So the way we keep from being eaten like one of the Breakfast Burritos is to plant our feet and sing really loud (I suggest "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," which can be sung just as threateningly as Zip-a-dee-do-dah), and the Devil will flee from you like a frightened coyote.  

The coyote in the pasture disappeared into a grove of trees, but as we kept walking, we could still hear him and some of his friends barking.  And that's the thing with The Enemy too - he never quits barking at us to come and show him what we're made of, which isn't really all that much more than a Breakfast Burrito with six-inch legs.  We need to remember that while resisting is always necessary, we are also advised to flee while the going is good.

  

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.