hart – an adult male deer*
A chicken wire fence is all that separates my backyard from the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Last summer, a pack of coyotes moved in and the sounds of their hunting permeated the neighborhood daily. It was a chilling novelty, forcing our children to come to terms with realities of life and survival earlier than we might have wanted.
One night after putting them to bed, my wife and I were sitting in our driveway with our dog and a bottle of wine when a coyote emerged from a neighbor‘s backyard and loped past us as though the neighborhood was his. For a summer, it was.
We sat there a while longer, thinking about the dangers we keep just far enough out of mind to get by, wildlife and wildfire. Then we went inside, sobered but grateful to have each other as we face whatever the world wants to throw at us.
*Wildlife experts will tell you coyotes have no shot at taking down a large buck, and I wouldn’t argue with them. The word choice reflects the epic battle taking place in our imaginations rather than the bleak reality that they’re more likely hunting a fawn or injured doe. And if people hear “heart” instead of its zoological homonym, that’s fine by me.
“Hart” was recorded live in Murphys, just outside the backyard gate. Dave Duggan plays bass on the track. A different version of this recording was entered into NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest 2025. Streaming everywhere, including:
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Sounds like the coyotes took down another hart
From the yips and yelps out just beyond the garden
Their second one since June
Their cries are coming through
Closed windows and air conditioning
We tell the children it’ll all be over soon
I double-check the gate and bring the dog in
When you and her and me
Caught one running up the street
I held you while the stars stood listening
Then we open up the windows, let the night in
Pray the hunt is finished for some time
Whatever’s lurking just beyond the garden
Couldn’t wrest your hopes from mine
Looks like the lightning just sparked another fire
So we gather all the things supposed to matter
By now we’re well prepared
Photo albums, teddy bears
We tell the children to double-check their rooms
Say “Home is where the heart is”
It just makes them sadder
Then we cover up the windows through the crying
Pray the heat will hold off for the night
Whatever’s lurking just beyond the garden
Couldn’t wrest your hopes from mine
Whatever’s lurking just beyond the garden
Couldn’t wrest your hopes from mine
Sounds like the coyotes took down another hart
This is Grover’s second single of 2025, following “Naked Phone” featuring Honey Run, released in January: