The Coyote Whisperer

Dr Desert Flower has begun going to bed earlier and waking up earlier, to try and match my schedule a little better.  It enables us to spend more quality time together as a couple in the evenings, and she gets to see the sun rise on morning walks when Southern California weather is pleasant (as it has been this month and last month) while I am engaged in conference calls with Bangalore, Warsaw, Atlanta, and South Carolina.  This morning, DDF was excited to tell me about a coyote who was walking beside her, 5 or 6 feet away, at the park near the top of the hill in our neighborhood, the same park where I've done yoga on the Pacific Ocean vista.

In the past when we've taken walks in Indiana, South Carolina and Arizona, DDF had the nick-name "the cat whisperer" since every cat we encountered on our walk appeared to be inexorably drawn to her.  It appears coyotes are likewise drawn to her as well.  "I was walking at a brisk pace when I thought 'one of the neighbor's dogs must be out without a leash' when I saw what I thought was a german shepherd" as the animal paced her several feet away.  Then she said she noticed the larger ears, the different tail, and distinguishing snout - that was no german shepherd, it was a coyote!  She said the made a jumping motion and waved her hands in the air suddenly to ward off the wild animal, and the coyote took off down the hill and away from her - it was fun to watch her recreate this motion.  ...I think only a shy coyote would have been threatened by it.  =)