Sunrise 5:50 am: A little art, a lot of nature

There are lots and lots of high thistles at Arastradero Preserve this year, making for very artistic pictures. There was also a lot of animal activity this morning. As the Dawn Joggers and Cassie headed up a switchback trail in a ravine, they heard loud, urgent yelps of a coyote, soon spotted on their right. It was answered by loud, high-pitched yelps to their left, the unmistakable sound of pups. The DJs presumed that it was Mom, out on a foraging run, who was warning the pups in the den that danger was in the midst. Once on the top of the ridge, the came across bunny and quail families and then, l00 yards further, another coyote right in the middle of the trail. He (the male DJ insisted it was the pup's father) moved to the neighboring hillside and posed for a portrait, eyeing us watchfully.