Beginnings and Endings

Down the single-track

As Becca and I drove down Senna this morning we rounded a bend and spotted a young Coyote eating carrion in the middle of the road.  The animal very reluctantly moved aside as we approached.  I saw in the rear-view mirror that it went back to finish its breakfast after we had passed, and I worried that another car barreling around the bend might kill the Coyote.  And, indeed, another car came along behind us, but it, too, stopped for the critter.  All during our hike then I thought about what it would be like to be a Coyote trying to survive in the desert, struggling to find food and water.  I figured if I was a Coyote I'd live as close as possible to the city because finding sustenance there would be far easier.  Imagine my surprise when, two-thirds of the way into our trek, Becca came upon the dead Coyote pictured below.  In all my decades of hiking in the desert it was the first dead Coyote I've ever discovered in the wild.  I have to admit that the find made me feel sad.  As I've said in the past I feel a certain affinity for Coyotes, perhaps because of the love I have for dogs.

Twist and bark

There's a dog in this photo

Rolling desert hills

Straight shot across the desert

Moon and jet

Balancing on an Ocotillo wand

Dead Coyote

I couldn't tell what killed it (I hope it wasn't poisoned)

Prickly Pear, Ocotillo and mountains

Another skeletal Ocotillo