The sky was completely dark this morning on our 3:30 am walk; the moon had not yet risen. The brightest things in the sky were Venus (on the western horizon) and the Milky Way (straight overhead). Beautiful.
And this morning there was nary a coyote, dog, or turkey to be heard. The only animal sounds I heard were a few crickets and one lonely-sounding peacock who squawked a few times. That was it.
Our three field spaniels were nose-down, investigating the previous night's visitors. At one point in our walk, all three of them wanted to go investigate a nearby pepper tree – a place where I've seen a bobcat lurking before. They were annoyed that I wouldn't let them check it out. Our border collie was up to his usual morning shenanigans: picking up pine cones, putting them by my feet, and waiting for me to kick them. I think he would do that for approximately a year if I was willing to continue the game.
Somehow I suspect that my next two mornings in Phoenix won't be nearly as pleasant...
