Tales of the Desert - Coyote Spring

It was a glorious spring morning when Ky O'Tee, the Sabino Canyon Coyote,  rubbed his eyes and awoke from his night's sleep in his cozy den in the Tucson desert. Ky's den is tucked away in  the Catalina Mountain Range in Sabino Canyon, along a gentle stream.  The stream is not much more than a dry river bed for most of the year.  A dry river or stream is also known as a wash by those who dwell in the desert.  But when the summer rains,  known as Monsoons, roll in and bring heavy rain and strong winds, the wash turns into a  raging river of water that just as quickly returns to a quiet stream when the rain stops.  Ky's den sits high above the wash and never gets flooded when the rains come.

Ky awoke to the sounds of birds chirping, doves cooing, quail twittering.  All  his feathered neighbors had recently returned from a winter spent in Mexico and South America where the weather is warmer than the desert in winter. The Tucson desert can get mighty cold in the winter.  It sometimes even snows!   As the sun began to peak over the canyon walls, Ky started to feel hungry, so he ventured out in search of breakfast.  Ky was known to be a good hunter and early mornings always provided the best prey.  Sometimes it might be a rabbit or a desert mouse.  What would he find today?  He could hearhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote the "yip, yip, yippity" calls of his Coyote chums:  "Howdy Ky;  What's for breakfast today?"  "Have you found anything tasty this morning?" "What do you have to share with us?"

Ky was too clever a coyote to be tricked by his chums into telling them what he had caught for breakfast.  If he let them know about his hunting success, the other coyotes would leave nothing for him to eat.  Ky answered, "yip, yippity, yippity, yip."  "Sorry, guys; no luck this morning."  " It is just Mesquite beans for me, today."  Ky snatched his fresh prey and quickly scampered off to his den to enjoy his well earned breakfast alone and in peace.  His coyote chums would have to hunt for their own morning meal, today.  Maybe they would have better luck foraging in city dumpsters along Tucson's many alley ways.  Click

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