Water dish

October is one of my favorite months in the desert. The daytime temperatures are in the 80's, with evenings in the 40's and 50's, and skies are clear. We have the house open all day and all night so you can hear the contented clucks of the coveys of quail in the yard scurrying about for seeds, and the cactus wren with his raucous noise. Winter birds are returning.

The rains are gone now, and vegetation is drying up, so the water dish in the front yard is being frequented by birds and mammals, and everyone has their schedule. The busiest times are early morning and dusk. Bunnies and jack rabbits come about the same time, and share amiably at the end of the day, but when a coyote comes by they leave. The quail are unperturbed by coyote presence however, and drink at any time of day.

When this coyote showed up, both Emma and Shawna barked, but the 'yote was not impressed. Emma is afraid of coyotes, but Shawna chases them off the property. When we meet in the wild the dogs come and stay close to me, thankfully. A pack of coyotes would be no match for even Shawna.