“Now and then we hear the wilder voices of the wilderness, from animals that in the hours of darkness do not fear the neighborhood of man: the coyotes wail like dismal ventriloquists, or the silence may be broken by the snorting and stamping of a deer.”

~ ‘Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and The Wilderness Hunter,’ 1885, President Theodore Roosevelt

“Teddy” didn’t live in the Crescenta Valley although his quote describes our area. In 1903 he was close by; a photo at the Huntington Library shows him in Pasadena in a four-wheeled carriage drawn by white horses that sits on a road amid crowds of spectators and members of a marching band. Besides being the President, he was an environmentalist. I was drawn to his words on nature, particularly coyotes, after reading this: coyote populations increase in years of abundant rainfall.

Urban coyote sightings reported via social media have multiplied over the last several years. Once confined to hillside communities that encroach on the predators’ dens and territories, coyotes are now seen skulking around in daylight hours, even at the beach. Why? Some folks feed and try to befriend them.

A mostly typical June weather pattern will finish this week’s forecast. The marine influence – fog and cool temperatures – will lessen as the onshore winds weaken. Sunshine and a warm-up will dominate across most inland areas. Beaches will see little clearing as the winds keep the fog low. On Monday and Tuesday the low clouds will move back into the valleys; a cooling will occur from the valley to the sea.

NWS meteorologists were expecting a very hot and clear Fourth of July, but the forecast changed; June gloom is now extending into July. Optimistically, we’ll see the aerial fireworks.

Happy Birthday, America!

Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley
resident and  Official Skywarn
Spotter for the National Weather Service. Reach her at suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.