Sunrise 6:02 am: In the company of coyotes

Another hallmark of the Dawn Joggers 25 years of jogging at sunrise is being in the company of coyotes. When they lived in Southern California and jogged around South Pasadena and San Marino, it was not unusual to spot a coyote running down one of the dry concrete floodways that came down from Angeles Crest. This past year they've seen many more pairs of coyotes than usual. They suspect that they're seeing a mother and her near adult pup. Given the legginess of some of the coyotes, they also think some of the mountain lion sightings have really been coyotes. This morning they came close to tripping over a pair - or so it felt. The male DJ was ahead of the female DJ and Cassie and had stopped to take their picture as they came up a small knoll. Soon there was a tremendous commotion and only 25 yards away sat two coyotes in the tall grass. One continued to move away but the other stood her (?) ground and yipped and yipped as if to say, "Stay away from us."