The Ebb and Flow of Nature - A Patriot's Journey
Some of you know that Dawn and I live in a nice area between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, much of it undeveloped and unspoiled. It’s one of the fastest growing cities in the tri-counties, yet local government and developers have managed to set aside a generous amount of land as natural habitat. For example, our home backs up to a natural creek, part of a protected strip of land that runs from high in the hills to the valley below providing refuge for a variety of wildlife. So it’s not unusual for us to see foxes, raccoons, wild turkeys, owls and an occasional coyote or deer in our yard. It’s what attracted us to the area — nice neighborhoods close to the city, yet still part of nature.
But every once in a while, nature interrupts our regular routine and last week was a perfect example. From our upstairs bedroom window, we’d been hearing “sounds” late at night and in the pre-dawn hours in our back yard, sounds we couldn’t identify. One night we thought we heard an animal attack and quickly dispose of another, not unusual in nature but something we weren’t used to hearing in our yard. Then, Saturday before last, while moving a deck chair from the garage to the back yard, Dawn heard something she hadn’t heard before — a sort of “growl”! She dropped the chair and raced into the house, but caught a glimpse of a dog-sized animal jumping from a tree near the creek at the rear edge of our property. I mistakenly assumed it had been a fox and dismissed it.
A while later, she again tried to move the lawn chair. By then I was upstairs with the window open, camera at the ready, hoping to get a glimpse and maybe a photo of the “fox” should it dare show itself. But as Dawn started up the stairs leading to our upper deck, we heard the unmistakable warning cry of a mountain lion, this time very loud and much closer! I jumped to the window in time to see Dawn literally “fly” up the stairs and back into the house!
We put in a call to Animal Control, beginning a long series of referrals (another story!) eventually leading to a wildlife biologist with the Department of Fish and Game who, at least in our area, deals with big cats. He met us Monday after work and checked out the property. Happily, the lion had apparently moved on, characteristic behavior we were told. But we found a family of gray foxes living by the creek! These little guys help keep down the squirrel and rat populations, so they were a sort of consolation prize.
Is the mountain lion gone for good? We can’t say for sure, but it was our first encounter in all the years we’ve lived here so we doubt we’ll be bothered again. Was it scary? Sure, especially for Dawn! But she went down to pick some oranges the other day without incident, and we haven’t heard any animal activity in the back yard the last few nights. I guess it’s just the natural ebb and flow of nature. And we still love living in it!
You know, with all the problems we face, we Americans have so much for which to be thankful that it makes the rest seem trivial by comparison. Next time you find yourself whining about the sad state of this or that, stop and look around at all that’s good. Put things in perspective. We may not be rich, and we may have our share of problems, but in the greater sense, we’re all “livin’ the dream”!
This is a Patriot’s Journey post. You may also enjoy visiting the other journeyers: Drumwaster, Larry at The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason…
Doug
in Home Front, Patriot's Journey, Photography, Wildlife
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Reader Comments (17)
Amazing your wife wasn't eaten alive! You are just lucky he wasn't hungry!
My goodness, Doug! It sounds like a dangerous place to live! I don't think I would ever venture into the yard again if that happened to me! Thank goodness Dawn wasn't attacked!
We lived in the country when I was a very little girl and we had deer come into our yard too. My grandfather helped me feed them out of my hand! I suppose today that would not be considered a smart thing to do because making them tame to humans isn't good.
I don't remember ever seeing a cougar but I do recall my father having to go out and shoot one every once and a while if it was harassing the livestock.
Let's hope your lion is gone for good!
Definitely lucky! If he was hungry and saw your wife as food, he would have taken her down without making a sound! The warning cry you heard was a warning to back off. But running away as your wife did was not the recommended response. Your supposed to stand tall, try to look bigger, maintain eye contact, make noise, and back away slowly. If it was as close as it sounds like it was, your wife is very lucky!
Ebb and flow? A mountain lion in my yard? I would be flowing all right, straight to another part of town!
Just kidding, I am sure you live in a nice area. But between me and a lion, I would be the one moving.
I hope you keep your animals indoors. He is beautiful, but if he is like my cat, he is always hungry!! I can't believe your wife went outside to pick oranges after that!
Good advise, we are living the dream, especially when compared to some in less developed and war torn parts of the world.
Have a nice weekend!
I say if he was close enough to photograph he was too close for comfort!!! Tell your wife oranges are on sale at the grocery!!!
Always enjoy your articles, especially the Patriots Journey posts, and you photo images. All top cabin!
It sounds like you and your wife had a real scare and according to other posts, escaped a lion attack. You are making light of it but I know you must be thanking your lucky stars things didn't turn out for the worse. I think your wife deserves a nice dinner out, don't you?
Ohhhhh, the cougar is such a BEAUTIFUL creature and the fox is So cute!! I love all animals, even the dangerous ones!! I am glad your wife wasn't hurt!!
Handsome devil, all right. I'm glad he left of his own accord; the wildlife biologist from Fish and Game was prepared to shoot him as an "eminent danger" under the circumstances. We would have hated to see that happen, although we couldn't allow him to "move in" with us, either. So it all worked out. We haven't seen the foxes since; hope we didn't scare them off. We kind of like having the little guys scurrying about.
You know, the more we develop, the more we encroach on the natural habitats of wildlife, the more we will encounter animals in our neighborhoods. We don't mind sharing a little ground, as long as they don't cause problems. Mountain lions and coyotes, though, need to move on.
D.
Always 5-star posts Doug and the photos are icing on the cake! Glad your cougar left the building and all is well. Enjoy the weekend!
Very good post, glad you are both ok, excellent photos, have a nice weekend!
Ian
I am new to your site. I spent a long time reading your posts and looking at your great photos. I really love the site! Count me as a new regular reader.
I have one question, how do I become a subscriber?
An amazing story that could have gone so wrong but turned out good!
Scary story with a happy (lucky) ending! Great images btw!
Awesome! You are one lucky dude your wife wasn't cat dinner!! Great pictures too!
Some of you have expressed alarm that we live in an area with mountain lions. I'll admit that I'd been unaware of other sightings in this area over the years but, as anyone living up here can tell you, it comes with the territory.
For the record, cougars generally keep to themselves and hunt easy, smaller game prevalent in our area. It would be extremely rare for a cougar passing through to feel the need to attack a human.
Some of you have wondered how Dawn could ever venture into the backyard again. Well, the biologist told us the cougar had likely moved on, so there would be no reason not to. Nonetheless, she didn't actually go down to the orange tree to pick fruit. Rather, she used a fruit picker and reach down from the stairs near the upper deck. She's brave, but she wasn't going to tempt fate until we were sure the coast was clear.
Finally, some have mentioned the cougar photo. I should have pointed out that it's not of our cougar. Rather, it was taken at an wildlife farm several years ago. I wasn't able to get a shot of the one in our yard.
Thanks all for your concern. The drama was short lived and provided an interesting story, but it's over now.