I love public radio. The problem is, it’s hard to take with you on long walks or runs. I’ve tried FM radios for years. (Dating back to Sony Walkman with FM!). Nothing worked. I could tune a station for a few seconds, but every step was a struggle to keep the darn thing from filling with static or dropping out altogether. Or being replaced with loud mariachi music. (That’s how it sounded to my ignorant ears.)

You know how sometimes a stubbed toe can throb – and then ache – for literally weeks? But then when it stops hurting, the relief sort of creeps up on you, and you don’t notice it at first? One day you look back and realize, Hey! My toe stopped hurting!

That’s what happened with me and the radio + jogging problem. I loaded up KPCC’s free iPhone app and it worked. I started taking it on long walks and jogs (4+ miles), with lots of hills and gullies. It worked and I was happy.

And then I remembered! This used to be a pain. The radio never used to work, least of all amid hills and gullies. (FM works by line of sight.) KPCC had solved my problem for months already.

It just took a sudden flash for me to realize that the throbbing had finally stopped.

KPCC's free iPhone app

KPCC app needs on-demand. I do wish KPCC’s app had content available on demand, as KCRW’s app does.

Debs Park wildlife. When we first moved here, we were thrilled to be living next to a large park. Debs Park is slightly run down but utterly charming and chock full of wildlife – rabbits, squirrels, owls, redtail hawks, and coyotes. Lots and lots of coyotes. On one occasion, I started counting the coyotes crossing my path and there were at least 8. Eight coyotes in one group!

Provocative urban coyotes. Mind you, I am thrilled to have coyotes around – in fact I’m a big fan of Canis latrans. But my dogs are not big fans, especially our female terrier mix, Leenah. Whenever she hears the slightest sound which might be coyote-related, she charges around the house or yard, barking and carrying on like 40 pounds of very mad dog.

Canine-induced insomnia. During the day, this is fine. Leenah is just doing her job. But for several nights in a row she would wake us up at 1 AM, then 4 AM, then 6 AM – all in a single night. A gnawing dread began to set in. What if this continued for months on end? I’d surely lose my mind. I was desperate for a good night’s sleep.

Noise to the rescue. And that’s why I’m grateful for noise. White noise, that is. We found that if we tuned the stereo to a station with pure static, that would mask the sounds from the park just enough to let Leenah – and her human companions – sleep through the night without being disturbed by howling (or creeping) coyotes.

Coda to coyote tale. Even better than FM radio static is an iPhone app, Sleepmaker Rain Free. These days, I hook my iPhone up every night to the AUX input of my husband’s circa-1990 stereo receiver. I queue up the Sleepmaker Rain track, Gentle onto forest foliage. Then I adjust the volume just so.

Ahhh. Sleep.