We had a gorgeous day in Colorado yesterday, sunny and warm, but with a steady breeze that kept us from overheating. In the evening, we sat sat out back on our patio and watched the rabbit colony in the natural area behind our house. They live on a west-facing slope above a creek, and while we can’t see the water, we get a great view of rabbits racing back and forth. At that time of day, the slope is brightly lit with the golden-red rays of the setting sun.

Kurt wondered why we haven’t seen more predators in the area, considering the high density of the rabbit population. His words worked like magic. A little while later, we spotted two coyotes slinking through natural area. We watched them with binoculars and took some pictures, but they were too far away to get a really good photo. Still, here’s a shot of the one that got closest to us – maybe 100 yds away. You can see he’s watching us, but he didn’t show any real alarm until we spoke. Then he took off.

I can’t get over how beautiful they were. Their coat were the color of the dried grass they were trotting through, but they had rust-colored markings on their muzzles. Both looked really healthy. Not only were their coats thick, but they were alert and moved well. They didn’t go after any of the rabbits, which was fortunate for one rabbit that was actually between the two of them at one point. We still can’t believe that rabbit got away without at least being chased.

I love living in the West.