I "met" one of our neighbors last night

And it wasn't very pleasant. Actually, it was VERY unnerving. I have been trying to go for a walk every night to not only get some exercise, but also to get a little time each day to just me. So after a birthday party for little Clara last night, Andy set about getting the girls ready for bed while Sunny and I went for our walk (I always take her with as protection from other people or animals, just in case). I wasn't going to go the full walk because Desperate Housewives was going to be coming on soon, and the sun was starting to set a bit anyway. As we got about a half-mile up the road, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. Apparently Sunny saw it, too, because she instantly stopped, raised one foot slightly and the hair on her back stood up. I looked into the meadow where I'd seen movement expecting to see a deer, which is a common occurrence. But no, I saw something else. Something gray, fluffy and bigger than Sunny (who's a lab on the bigger end of the spectrum) This something stopped and just stared right at us, showing no signs of fear or anxiety over our appearance. That was enough for me. I quickly called for Sunny and we turned and headed home. I wasn't about to walk past that meadow.

I called Andy to get his thoughts on what it was and we both came to the same conclusion. The animal caught our scent (more likely Sunny's, as another canine) and came out to survey it's territory. It could have been a coyote-we hear them all the time at night, yelping and howling at each other. But they are small, very skiddish and usually scruffy looking. Not this critter. This animal was fluffy, bigger than Sunny and showed no fear. It was a wolf. They are in the area and have been spotted a few times by people we know, but we'd never seen one so close to home. I kept looking back as long as I could see the meadow (and so did Sunny, her hair never went back down until we were home) and it just continued to stare and watch us as we walked the route back home. As soon as I came in the driveway, Andy hopped in his car to see if he could get a look at it, but by the time he got up there, it was gone.

I learned 2 lessons from my walk last night: 1) don't go walking so close to dusk and 2) continue to take my cell phone and my protector Sunny with me. I have never gone on my walks without her and now I never will.

*I've posted a few times this morning, so check below!