Zima is an avid watcher and chaser of the local squirrel population.
She knows every tree and inhabitant in the neighborhood. I have never
seen her catch one, although I am not sure that "chase" is not the
name of the game. Once, several months ago, I watched for 5 minutes
while Zima and a squirrel, whom she knows well, stared at each other
from not more than 4 inches between noses. She realizes that catching
a squirrel would eliminate the chase, and that would be no fun. But
she is getting better at stalking and moving slowly. Last week, I
saw her get within a foot of a squirrel without him noticing.
This morning we took our usual Sunday excursion into the
Rocky Mountain foothills. At one point, Zima spied a squirrel
gathering nuts and the chase was on. The squirrel found a tree
and quickly scampered up. Zima, not knowing that COYOTES CAN'T
CLIMB TREES, climbed the tree with a running start. When she stopped
she was 10 feet up with no way to get down. Now I've heard about
the proverbial cat up a tree, but this was a sight to behold. A
coyote 10 feet up hanging onto a branch and squealing. The squirrel
on a higher branch was laughing his head off (and I have to admit
it was a strange sight). I let Zima hang/sit there for several minutes
before, when, with a little help from her friends, she got back to solid
earth.

Moral: As you chase your dreams, don't let your enthusiasm strand
you in a tree with no way out.