That Coyote was one scary dude!  I had never really seen one up close and ever so personal before!  I sat as still as a cat can sit.  So did Harlequin and Hobbie.

I mean —- we were still!

Gradually, the day started to arrive.  First, just a sorta lighting of the sky in the east, then more and more light.

As that happened, the coyote decided it was time to head home to its den somewhere over there.

Once the coyote left, we all collapsed and sprawled on the ground for a long, long spell.

Then Hobbie got up.  Shook himself off and announced: “Let’s Head Home, TLC.  Would you like to come with us, Harlequin?”

Harlequin sat there looking at us with a puzzled look on her face.

“Home?” She pondered.  “Home?  I am home.”  With that, she turned and left us.

“Oh, my goodness, Hobbie.  She LIVES up here!!!”

“I know,” Hobbie replied sadly.  “I know.”

We were sitting there feeling rather bad for Harlequin when three raccoons came skuttling by— “Randy!!!” Hobbie yowled. “Randy, Racc!  Hey, it’s me, Hobbie!”

Hobbie bounced out of the Rabbitbrush right into the path of Randy the Racc and his two brothers.

There was a bunch of nose touching, a high-five or two, and big smiles all around.

“Hobbie!  You are back!!!! We’ve missed you!”  Randy exclaimed.

“Yep, back for a visit, that’s all. TLC and Boo Berry and I headed up here to chase the pack of wild dogs off the property, but when we got here, they were gone.”

“Yeah…they are gone.  That’s a good thing.  They were a bunch of dogs gone bad.  Hoomans drop them off and drive away, leaving them to figure out how to survive.  They pack up and become mean and cruel.”

“Yeah,” Richard, Randy’s younger brother by two minutes, replied, “We saw them kill a raccoon the other night over on the rancher’s land.  Not a pretty sight.”  Richard shook his head sadly.

“Well, as long as they aren’t here anymore, we might as well go on home.” Hobbie mused.

“Where is home?”  Ralph the Racc asked.

“It is the big house at the other end of the farm.  The one with the soft beds inside and Mom and Dad.  And Boo Berry!”  I explained.

“BOO BERRY!!! WE STILL NEED TO FIND BOO BERRY!”  I yelled.

“BOO BERRY!”

BOO BERRY!!!  WHERE ARE YOU?”