Eastern coyote For much of the day, it's been too hot to venture outside for very long. But by the late afternoon, after a long day writing and researching, I really needed to go for a walk. It was somewhat cooler, and as I started walking, motion in the shadows of the meadow caught my eye. I tracked it for a few moments and when the mystery emerged in a spot of sunlight, I figured out what I was straining to see. It wasn't a stray dog. It was a cursed coyote—I use cursed deliberately; coyotes have killed at least one of my cats—walking around in broad daylight. Normally, I revel in the presence of wildlife. Not this time. I wished I had a rifle instead of a camera.