Coyote Meets Deer

One never knows what
surprises lay in wait just
around the corner....

~carliewired

I slept in this morning awaking at 6:30 with the sun blazing into my bedroom. I had trouble really getting my eyes open and putting my executive functions into play. The world looked just glorious out there so I decided I would forego the coffee, get a quick shower and get going. 

I was on my way down the road just before 7:30. We have construction underway on various routes within the city so I was mindful of what way I should be going to get myself across the bridge and onto Mission Flats without delays.

When I had successfully navigated onto Mission Flats I began to relax. It is largely a quiet end of the city at this time of morning. 

Half way to the end of the road I caught a coyote coming out of the road's edge. It was getting a drink out of a puddle. I pulled off the road onto the shoulder and rolled down my driver's window. It didn't seem to have any concern about me there. I watched it wander across the road and back again. It trailed along the side of the road heading west like me. It was alert but seemed aimless and searching. Looking for breakfast? 

I moved on and at the next curve in the road a doe was munching the roadside vegetation standing in full sun. As I pulled over to take her picture she melted into the landscape. I caught her hiding in the weeds just watching and listening. It occurred to me that the doe and the coyote were soon to cross paths. I wondered who was going to react first and what would happen. I didn't have long to wait. 

I was watching the coyote in my rear view mirror coming closer. Suddenly, he turned tail and took off in the opposite direction running full tilt. The doe had launched herself out of her hiding spot and was chasing him down the road. I was so busy laughing that I missed any photo of this encounter. 

I drove to the end of the road to get a shot of the delta where the Thompson River meets Kamloops Lake. I got a shot of the osprey platform near the river. Earlier, I'd watched the pair building a nest. Today I could see one grey-brown lump in the nest with one adult overlooking it. So, there must be one offspring. 

I stopped to get photos of the wildflowers/weeds along the roadside. I caught one butterfly, a Sulphur, making its way through the vegetation. 

On my way back to the bridge, I met the coyote one more time. It was crossing the road in front of me about a mile from where I first saw it. 

I stopped at a drive-thru as I was now desperate for coffee. I had just been listening to news about a nationwide outage of the Roger's network that would be affecting internet and banking systems. Sure enough, my drive-thru was unable to manage debit cards this morning. I sat at the window and counted out coins from the plastic bag in my console.

I'm in for the day. Someone is coming to give me a quote on the flooring I've selected. Perhaps they could calculate for window blinds while they are here. I'd love to have it all done and dusted before fall. 

We have a mix of sun and cloud today with a high of 26 C, the possibility of showers this afternoon and the risk of thunderstorms.