A little impromptu post about my adventures today.

It's not too scary, so

Every day I walk the dogs (well, some days the hubs does it too😍). I take them separately because they are pretty big and could drag me if they so pleased. We have a wooded area along the creek by our house, also know as the greenbelt, as we live in a high mountain desert. I always walk along the same paths that circle around.

Today, I had taken my camera because I still have another day to enter @papa-pepper's current Combination Photography Contest. I'm never happy with my first pics. 😏

I had decided to try for a pic like the Instagram photographer that took pics of his girlfriend while holding her hand all over the world.

Except, I was gonna use one of my doggies and the LEASH be the arm/hand instead.

Genius. I know. 😎

Here's a pretty good one of Banquo checking out the area.

And another. A lot of down trees along the paths...

So, you may be wondering why I don't use one of these photos for the contest.

This is where my story begins...

Upon first entering the path I felt as if we were being watched or followed. 👀This is pretty weird for mid-afternoon as there's not much going on in the woods at that time... except for the occasional deer family. And they don't really care about us anyway (more on that later).

The wind was picking up as well, making it harder to hear movement around me. As I oddly felt uneasy I began talking to myself/Banquo, just attempting to make our presence known.

I passed the giving tree. (Whoa! I totally forgot to do a post about this tree. It's weird... I'll do it later.😀) Went over the first fallen tree and under the second. At this point, we are approaching the creek crossing and I'm suddenly aware of eyes 👀far in the distance to my left.

We stop. I focus.

A large (possibly 10 point) buck and a couple of lady friends are aware of us too. It appears to be the same family I run into daily, so they aren't bothered by us. We continue on.

Just as we pass the fairy tree (the tree that I believe the mischevious fairies live. Don't ask me why. I'd say I'm just a little nutty. 😜) both Banquo and I are acutely aware of something in the distance. I can almost hear something, but that pesky wind is just a blowing.

We stop in the clearing (the first pic above) and listen. I decide the strange noises I'm hearing are the trees squeaking in the wind and we carry on.

Knowing we are about to go through a very thin part of the path (heavily wooded) I tether Banquo closer to me. Suddenly, Banquo stops and points, then looks at me to wait for command (I'm guessing😏). I wait for a second and hear the same weird high pitched squeaking I had attributed to the trees and we continue... for about two feet until....

A COYOTE popped around the corner!

Crap!

Banquo stopped. The coyote looked at us, then looked in the direction it came and then I heard the sounds again, louder... no wind...😳

He's on guard for whatever is going on under that patch of trees! I instantly turn and tell Banquo to run. We get back to the other side of the creek, all the while, I'm looking back to make sure we weren't followed.

Now, y'all may be thinking, "Why you so scared, Carrie?"

That's a great question!

I wouldn't have been quite so worried had I been alone. Then I would have only needed to protect myself. Because I was with a dog, I was responsible for both of us.

The coyotes around here are little tricksters. They've been often seen attempting to trick dogs out of their yards to be lured to their deaths. There's also an issue of less food for the wildlife, in general, this year for several geological reasons. This means they are more desperate than normal. I have been hearing them out right before dusk seeking their kills, so have moved up my walk time with the buddies.

I decided to go back the same way with the second dog, Oberon.

I was still a touch curious to see if we would be able to get all the way around. Plus, a few days prior we had taken a different route and trailblazed a little and found a WEIRD spot that looked like death or molting. 😧I wanted to go back alone (or with Fluffy/Oberon) to investigate.

We were just coming upon where I'd seen the coyote with Banquo and Oberon stopped.

I decided not to push it. I'm not exactly sure what would happen if we came upon a pack of coyotes dining, and didn't want to find out.

We, too, then turned around and headed back out. Better safe than sorry.

So, no qualifying selfie to prove I took these pics. 😏 Thus, I'll probably end up with a deer post shortly...😀

In closing, I love living here.

But sometimes....

Damn, Nature! You scary!

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All images were created/taken by me or from Bitmoji.com. Make your own today!

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As always, thanks for stopping by!

Hugs & Kisses 💋