“Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and numbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me – I am happy.” – Hamlin Garland.
Pepper, dripping wet, comes in at just under 20 pounds. She was smart enough this morning to call for help when she was surrounded by three coyotes twice her size. Thankfully she was unharmed. Photo by Pat Bean
Pepper in Danger
I heard the coyotes before light this dawn, and thrilled at the yipping. It was the sound of Mother Nature still making her presence known within city limits. I hear coyotes occasionally from my third-floor apartment in Tucson’s Catalina Mountain foothills, but I hear them almost every day when I’m visiting my daughter, who lives near the Tucson Mountains on the southwest side of the city.
This coyote, photographed beside an Arizona highway, probably weighs 35-40 pounds — Wikipedia photo
That’s where I was this morning – house-sitting and animal-sitting for my daughter who is camping with her three sons and husband this Labor Day weekend. The animals include one horse, two cats, three fish and three dogs. While my daughter’s dogs are all much larger than Pepper, the four of them play great together, especially her and the younger dog, Zip, who always conduct a fast game of chase in the horse arena whenever I let them outside to do their business.
So it was this morning. The pair had already made several loops of the arena when I suddenly heard Pepper give a frightful yelp. From my position on the patio, which is attached to the back of my daughter’s home, I looked up to see Pepper surrounded in the arena by three coyotes. I almost peed my pants.
Immediately, I started yelling, waving my arms and running toward her. My speed, for an old broad, astonished even me. Thankfully the coyotes decided I was too big a threat to risk for a small-dog meal, and they casually ambled away.
It was the first time in my life that I hadn’t been delighted and awed to see the touch of wilderness that these canine cousins of Pepper’s add to the landscape.
The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Bean’s Pat: What I See is What I Shoot http://tinyurl.com/mdn99ee Red Grass. I love the two quotes that accompany this photo.
Pat Bean's blog 
You saved Pepper! You go girl.
Thanks Mike … and I did. And I still am glad coyotes are in the landscape.
Yeah, me too. They are eerie at night and very cool.
Thank goodness you were able to scare the coyotes away.
Ma Grizzly always kicks in when our babies are in danger!