Coyote

The adult coyote sat facing us with front legs braced on the path three hundred paces ahead of us. We rode our frisky geldings toward her, and the puppy dog accompanying us was scouting for rabbits in front of our horses. The lanky pup spotted the coyote and took off full speed toward the wild animal. When the puppy crashed into the coyote, they tumbled in the dust since each animal was about the same size as the other. The coyote rose first and hightailed it around the bend and was out of sight. When we rounded the curve, the puppy was waiting for us, and we heard and saw the coyote as she lifted her face and howled to the sky. Again, the coyote was about three hundred paces ahead and facing us on the dirt trail. To her right the ground sloped steeply ending in a pond of water located at the Guajome Ranch, Vista, California. The teen age boy riding with me was Chris Richardson. He lived with his brother, father and his horse at the old house next to the old mission on North Santa Fe near Vista. His puppy was only a few months old, and the Richarson family had spent their lives working on the old Spanish land grant. The hay ranch was named Guajome, a word meaning frog pond. To the left of the coyote, the ground dropped off ten feet to tangles of bushes and weeds. Encouraged by the pitiful yelling of the coyote, the young dog took off again to catch it. This was the first time I ever heard a coyote howling in the daytime. Anticipating a good meal, the coyote jumped into the bushes, and the foolish doggy turned to follow her. We screamed and raced the horses to the puppy. Other coyotes were waiting in the bushes hoping to pounce on the doggy. Luckily, we were in time to save the little dog's hide. Later, San Diego County purchased and made the ranch a historical landmark park.