Today was heavy on wildlife; on the way out of town I saw a red-tailed hawk sitting on phone wires, and passed it relatively closely. Then there was the snake; the third dead young garter snake I've seen this year. I followed a scratch on the highway shoulder for over a half mile, like a machine had a rock jammed in it, just not sure what kind of machine. Got off the highway and onto the trail, where I saw a freshly killed coyote on the shoulder. I'd never seen a coyote before in the 21 years I've lived here. Stopped on the trail and ate handfuls of ripe blackberries; yum.

All in all, an interesting commute.