Coyote Sighting Beyond The Creek

Until today, everyone (my husband and neighbors) but me has seen a coyote traverse the creek that flows down our small canyon.  For a year now, I've heard the coyotes celebrating their kills in the wee hours of the mornings, and I've heard all the neighbors' scary coyote tales, and believe me, I've been scared, big time!  And I've had some terrible nightmares, in fact, in one of my dreams a coyote attacked my dog, and when I went to rescue my dog, the coyote attacked me.  I literally felt pain in my leg as the coyote bit through it.

Well, today, in broad daylight, my nightmares became a reality; I saw a coyote stalking through our yard in the tall vegetation growing just beyond the creek.  I was at the sink washing dishes when I saw the little bugger, and instead of grabbing my camera to document the event, like any truly committed and talented blogger would do, I panicked and ran to the slider and forcibly pushed each of our "12 Paws" into the house.  (Bear, the 75 pound English Bulldog, required three solid pushes -- man, she's stubborn when someone's trying to save her life!)  Anyway, my hubby was a little put off by my display of cowardice.  He'd rather I left the dogs outside to see if they would chase the coyote away.  WHAT???  Would you leave your children outside to see if they could frighten off a deranged, starving coyote?  I know I made the right decision.  To calm my frazzled nerves, I poured myself a cup of steaming hot green tea.  A little tea and American Idol -- just what the doctor ordered.

PS - Found this pic on the web, but I swear this is what the little bugger looked like!