Local lion; unknown provenance

If the subject were Barry's birthplace or did that UFO really, really land atop the Washington Monument, I could check in with Snopes. Not so when the email subject is so very local; I can't imagine how the intertubes' resident truth seekers would ever get involved in such a parochial email subject as a mountain lion appearing on someone's doorstoop in Prescott.

In any event, I was among many receiving an email with these excellent pictures. It explained, this big cat's picture was taken a few weeks back right outside of a home in Prescott, Arizona. Our two labs had been barking and doing all sorts of unusual things so we had just opened the door and let them inside. Now we know why they were going crazy. We were about to call someone when the animal disappeared. It took about 24 hrs. for our dogs to get relaxed.

Hoping to get 1) permission to use the photos and 2) possible info about the neighborhood where the cat visited, I did a follow-up email to my source. Turns out I am at the end of a long line of forwards, with no way of knowing the truth.

All I can say is that sightings of pumas happen regularly hereabouts and that the house and surround look as though they might well be in Prescott. And, hey, it's a cool set of pictures!

There it was, lying on the ground...

I see all sorts of odds and ends left behind beside the road or next the sidewalk. While the owner of that bike might have climbed down to the creek bed, which is just out of the picture to the left, I really doubt that he was down there trying to catch crawdads. More likely someone lifted that bike and left it behind when he got where he was going.

I see dead signs of various sorts when I go walking. If on the ground, they're likely to be advertising a candidate or a yard sale; on a telephone pole, lost dogs and cats. This particular sign was more unusual.

One can imagine a variety of reasons that someone might cast aside a book whose cover proclaims it is all about understanding feminine psychology. A break-up, maybe ... or the wrong slant on feminism ...

...or maybe the owner of the book simply lost his glasses.

Now, if I want to scrounge a suitcase, I wouldn't normally go walking down Park Avenue. But there it was the other day.

Complete with a discarded CD. Wonder what that back story is.

I'll end these musings with this pretty plaque that was just lying in a neighbor's yard. Let's hope that it is mounted one of these days in a spot where passers-by can admire it.

A Link & a Note: My SIL finds obscure & curious sites, such as Strange Maps. where you can find out the GNP equivalent between each of the 50 states and a foreign country or that infamous Absolut ad. And, as a former Chicagoan, I must comment on the lion shooting in My Fair Former City. The town is abuzz -- and it should be. The location where the cougar met his end was not the Loop, but it was pretty doggone far into the older city neighborhoods. Apparently people have been reporting sightings for some little time and been pooh-poohed. Sound familiar?

Critters: a postscript

Was I too precipitous in declaring that the ravens had abandoned the Courthouse nesting area? A comment from DDD appeared this morning: hanging around outside the Arts Prescott Coop last evening gazing at the Western facade of the Courthouse I saw two ravens courting (HA! no pun intended!) They were in the nest area then went up on the top and the male was presenting twigs to the female to see if they were good enough for her home. Then! Along came another male and the first spent about ten minutes chasing the intruder all over the square while the female went back and inspected the nest. Finally the nest preparation resumed as the sun set. Good to hear! Sounds like ravens are nesting later this year; credit the chilly weather, perhaps? I am reminded, too, that my lone robin has located him/herself a potential mate; I've heard call and response warbling the past couple of days.

Which reports -- since they have to do with critters -- reminded me that I finally got pictures of Max busy at one of his favorite occupations: tipping over, then climbing into any waste basket he can find. Once he is ensconced, he is quite happy. I'm not; he doesn't pick up all the scrids and scrads of paper, etc., that he spills in the process of getting comfy. But -- I have more to say about cats. Consider the idea of a felis like Max, except that he weighs, oh, 150 or 175 pounds. He's up on that tree branch....

...or the wall at the front of the downtown library. Isn't this new life-like mountain lion sculpture just the greatest? He's only been there a couple of weeks. I would hate to see those yellow eyes sizing me up out on a trail -- or in my back yard, as has happened on the fringes of the city.

To complete my brief update on critters -- I bought myself a new little owl yesterday to add to my small collection. Unlike catamounts/cougars/pumas, owls don't frighten me, though if I had a small kitten, I'd be quite careful out of doors.

Honoring Spring: Haven't collected enough evidence of spring for a proper post; Home Depot had few flowers that I wanted; all I have blooming is a handful of daffodils plus an apricot tree up the hill. So... in the right hand column, new links to 10 past posts dealing with the flowers that bloom in our spring (and summer and autumn). And you might be amused at the Aussie Bro dealing with American security measures in Perth. Next morning: speaking of critters, I was quite wowed by this post by the Backyard Arthropod Project, all about the ichneumon wasp and, just incidentally, the mongoose.