Zoinks! A coyote!
Check it out:
You’ll probably want to view the large version of the picture (via the gallery) to get a clear look at it. That’s about 200 yards beyond my house, taken yesterday evening at sunset. Cool, huh? I looked up and saw something floundering in the snow but couldn’t tell what it was. I snapped a few shots anyway just because, and now looking at the pictures, it’s obviously a coyote. (At least it wasn’t a bear.) Coyotes are pretty new to Minnesota, but they’re not just found in the sticks anymore. I’ve seen one about 3 miles west of Lake Calhoun (which is smack in the middle of Minneapolis proper, 5 miles out of downtown) and my sister has a few running around her first-tier suburban neighborhood. The funny thing is, when we were kids growing up at that house, we NEVER saw wildlife around there. Once in a great while the occasional racoon or owl would come around. Now the place is overrun with deer and wild turkeys, a bald eagle showed up across the street last week, and then coyotes just down the street. Crazy!