Anne has an amazing picture of a Yellowstone wolf up on her blog. Which reminds me…
Anne’s a much better photographer than I am, so I’m not really posting out of competitiveness. I’m just taking her photo as a reminder of an encounter with a hungry Joshua Tree coyote.
It was Valentine’s Day, 2001, and my sweethearts and I were taking a winter vacation down in the desert. Becky and Zeke sat on a rock, drinking some water and looking out at the world, and I stared off into the distance trying to figure out why the crow in the Joshua tree a couple dozen yards away was barking at us.
Then came the yipping, and a handful of vague contours behind the blackbrush suddenly resolved into a hidden coyote. We were in her way. She was torn between shy startlement at seeing people far away from the roads where they usually hung out, and a desire to ask us for peanut butter sandwiches. (Joshua tree coyotes are notorious beggars.)
As the sky darkened with a February rainstorm, she came out from behind the scrub.
Later, we saw her by the side of the road in traditional mendicant pose. I rolled down the rear window, and Zeke stuck his head out to investigate. Nothing much happened. We shot a few more photos, and I drove away.
:) Good ones!! Actually Coyote seems to come around to see me far more often than any other animal. I’m fond of the Native American Coyote stories in which Coyote reminds me so much of us…humans.
I have really been enjoying your site. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Anne
All you needed was the Trickster Goddess.
Good photo and I like what you are doing with your blog. I am always on the lookout for “birds of a feather.”
Take care
Bob
http://bobwhitson.typepad.com/howlings/