Bobcat Kitten - Chilling next to our house

A bobcat and her kitten have been resting at this house all day. These are the things I have seen watching this baby and mom today.

• The kitten was playing with what was left of a young cottontail rabbit.
• The kitten was stalking and attacking her mom's tail as it twiched.
• Mom was grooming herself, and the kitten ran over the back of the mom to attack the mom's tale, then layed down next to her. The mom then groomed the baby.
• The kitten climbed our citrus tree.
• The kitten took a nap under our living room window.
• A quail family started to walk past the window. The kitten stood up, peaked around the fireplace chimney, then squatted as though it was preparing to pounce! The quail turned around and decided not to continue as first planned.

I can't get a picture of the mom with the baby because they are up against our yard fence of expanded metal. The camera can't see through the fence. I was able to get pictures of the baby next to the window which I posted here.

Spying on Quail

The kitten is very thin as seen here. The spots on the back of the ears is evidence this is the Arizona Bobcat typical for our area. Another feature is the BIG feet. This tiny little cat has feet about twice the size of my full grown house cat.

Why are these wild cats next to the house? Well, it isn't because they are the mascot for University of AZ if that is what you were thinking. It is very dry in Arizona. With water so scarce, I believe the animals are resting near our yard where the watered grass and watered ground under the citrus tree is a retreat for these wild animals that don't typically hang out so close.

Coyote Puppy - Ah!! How Cute! ... and DANGEROUS

My son, Sam and his girlfriend, Brianna, were pet sitting for us while my husband and I were out of town. While enjoying the night air in the back yard, Brianna saw something in the shadows.

She and Sam found this little teeny tiny coyote puppy under the pomegranate tree in the back yard. It was so small it was able to slip through the narrow spaces between the bars of the yard fence.

Sam said it seemed to be thin and had ribs showing. He called us to discuss what to do with the coyote. He offered it cream and water. It was not afraid and allowed Sam and Brianna to pick it up and pet it. I had taken the cameras with us on our trip, so the only camera Sam had was a cell phone camera. This is the best picture we have.

Sam and Brianna set the coyote outside the fence. Later, they heard the coyotes close to the house again, and the puppy was not around the next morning. We assumed (hoped) that the puppy was reunited with its family.

The next afternoon, I heard the coyotes howling by the barn again. I ran outside and I heard baby coyote pups trying to howl. When I looked in that direction, I saw two baby coyotes running up and over the small rise on the property heading to where the older coyotes were howling.

Now... how can I get some video of this family, and still keep my cat and dog safe coyotes. Another reason why Marshal was attacked. It is dangerous to have coyote puppies showing up at your back door.

Gila Monster's for Easter 2011

It was the day before Easter, and my son, his daughter, and I were standing on the brick patio in our yard. My granddaughter was riding on the rocking horse we have under the porch. Marshal, the poodle, was standing next to us. He growled a low growl and started walking toward an intruder. My son and I turned to see what he was inspecting. Just 5 feet behind us, a Gila monster was strolling across the bricks toward the house. Marshal walked up to look at it, and then, as if he has seen the lizard before, ignored it.

My son, Andy,  was able to take amazing photos.  How many times can a photographer get this angle? The lizard was on a retaining wall, and my son was able to look up at him to take a picture of his belly.  Look at this! How often can a photographer get a picture of the Indian corn design on the underside of a Gila monster without picking one up?

The next day, on Easter Sunday, I was looking for the Gila monster and found a different one. Both are 15” long. Mine had a fatter tail and a feminine design. I call her "Flower" because of the flower-beaded design on her side. Mine is prettier than Andy's is.

If these reptiles are seen again, the pictures will help us identify them. Now that we have documented them, we just need to name them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Gila Monster seen Sat. before Easter 2011 - Andy's

The right side of the one seen Easter Sun. - Mine 

A picture of the full 15" of the one on Easter

The Survivor - 24 Hrs After the Coyote Attack

Posted today is an update on the survivor, Marshal Dillon, who single pawedly fought a coyote and lived to gloat about it. This morning, 24 hours later, Marshal seemed more confident than he should be after a coyote attack and a trip to the vet for stitches.

During his tour of the back yard this morning, he discovered a pack of javelina strolling outside the yard fence. Marshal fiercely barked and growled in an attempt to intimidate the wild peccary. Once satisfied, he strutted to the side yard to look in the direction of the attack, or maybe he refers to the incident as the “fight”.

Pictured below, he is seemingly looking for the coyote as he sniffs the breeze blowing in his face and across his stitched wounds. He is intently scanning the property through the fence in the direction of the battleground. He is not afraid. He seems to be checking to see that no coyotes are invading his territory. I think he thinks he beat the coyote.

The vet said that many of the dogs attacked have wounds on their backsides. Marshal was facing the coyote in the attack. He was pinned at one point, but got up and fought the coyote face to face.

This is what it takes to SurviveAZ. May he never prove he can survive a second coyote attack. I will be more cautious about letting him roam outside the yard without close supervision, especially since he seems to have developed an invincibility complex after yesterday.

Guarding His Territory

Coyote Attacks

Coyotes are wild canines living in the Arizona desert. Coyote means Trickster. They will lure pets away from a house, attack and eat them.

Today our poodle Marshal, who is 7 years old and 30 lbs was attacked. This time of year the coyotes are looking for animals larger than rabbits and pack rats to feed their young.

I took this picture of a coyote that thought he was hiding. This coyote was about a quarter mile from home and just off the main road.

Coyotes will eat scraps of food, small animals, all kinds of native plants including prickly pear and mesquite beans. They raid trash cans for human food. But one of their favorite dishes is people's dogs and cats.

Even though I was screaming at the coyote, he was still attacking until my husband was close enough to almost club him. They don't run until the last minute in their attempt to kill and run off with the animals. Just yelling at them from a distance doesn't phase them.

Marshal is 7 years old and has not been attacked before, so what happened this time? It was my fault for not being cautious enough. I had the front gate open while I was in the storage room in the back yard. I thought I could hear if there was anything on the property. Marshal is good about growling or barking when we have intruders. Where Marshal was attacked was at the edge of his typical marking area, and I don't think he knew the coyote was there until he was attacked. Chuck and I heard the ruckus and ran to rescue him.

Marshal will be fine, though we did have to take him to the vet for stitches in the puncture wounds around his head and shoulders.

I Love these Men, I Love their Adventures, I Love Being Their Mom.

I love being a mom of boys.

Today, I am still "Mom" and my husband is still "Dad" to four adventurous boys who grew into four risk-taking men. It is an honor to be the mom of these self-made men.  

As I was raising the boys, I relied on my experience growing up on a cattle ranch where my trusting mom and dad allowed my sisters and me to run around free exploring all the critters and crevices of the land. I loved letting the boys run around and explore, but these boys took their freedom a few steps farther than we girls did! Boys can scare the living daylights out of a mom while they are growing up to be men.

Adventures are still my favorite part about my boy’s lives. I love seeing what is exciting to them today and what they are planning for their next adventures. I love the grandkids, the women they love, the projects they work, the careers they choose, the things they build, the art they create, the friends they make, and the character they have developed within.

Man, I love being a mom of boy... I mean men.

Valentine's Celebration
It is a lovely morning. The weather is warm at 64 degrees. It is Sunday morning and the day before Valentine's Day.

This morning I cooked venison/pork patties for my Valentine, the hunter, who worked hard last November to bring home this main course. The venison was processed for us by Dickman's Meats. They ground the venison and pork together during the processing. The meat is low in fat and milder in taste than venison alone.

I also picked grapefruit from the trees in the yard. We had a hard freeze on 2/2/2011. The temperature dropped to 19 degrees at our house. The fruit is fine, but the trees are not doing well. I will post pictures later for a post on the health of the trees.

The meal was delicious, and especially enjoyable shared with my Valentine.