i grabbed the 74 bus from harvard square in the late afternoon and headed out to the fresh pond water treatment facility where they were having a lecture about coyotes in the city. if you didn't know this already, the coyotes are coming. actually, coyotes are already here, with reported sightings from every town in massachusetts other than the islands.

about two dozen people showed up for the talk, given by a wildlife biologist from the state fisheries and wildlife department. besides her slideshow presentation, she also brought along a stuffed coyote, as well as different coyote pelts to showcase their various colors. there were a few police officers there (from some animal rescue squad) who told personal stories of coyote sightings around cambridge.

what i didn't realize about coyotes is they basically produce a litter a year. over the course of a lifetime that could mean a lot of coyotes were it not for the fact that usually only half the litter survive to adulthood. they're also omnivores, happily feasting on garden plants when they're not knocking over trash cans or taking the occasional cat. coyotes are also smaller than i expected, ranging from 15 to 45 lbs. i've never seen a coyote here in cambridge, but i have seen one in providence, rhode island before.

by the time the lecture was over it was already dark. i walked a busy stretch of fresh pond parkway towards concord avenue just when a bus arrived at the stop. i rode it all the way to harvard square. i got myself a gyro dinner from the mexican greek takeout restaurant before heading back home.

this wasn't my first trip to harvard square. earlier in the day i went down and bought a small san francisco guide book. the oatmeal i made for lunch i added some cinnamon, raisins, and brown sugar. it was pretty good and i finally have some use for the large carton of raisins i bought a while back.

the new hiking bag i ordered arrived today. it's pretty much like my old bag but just better made: little things, like safety reflectors, sturdier zippers, more straps, and more padding. the first thing i did was to see if i could pack up all my camera gear into the bag (yes, they all fit, just like they did in my old bag). i love this new bag so much in fact that i just want to wear it around the house for no reason.