It can get lonely out there in the garden. Take my neighbor in the photo, who's clearly wanting to make contact with someone. I suspect that particular mountain lion is focused on pest control issues, and isn't in the mood to kick back and swap stories about how much snow we had two weeks ago--but I'm just guessing.
For neighborly chat and advice, it's great to be able to turn to garden bloggers in one's own neck of the woods. If this mountain lion had a garden blog, what would it be called? A Mountain Lion's Tale?
If the lion is as smart as I think he is, he'll find dinner and then afterward log on to Blotanical, the international directory of almost 1500 garden blogs.
With Blotanical he can use the site's map of the world to find other garden bloggers in the Sierra Nevada foothills. We're a fun bunch, and he could really get his teeth into our discussions about deer in the garden.
He can also check out countries that hold particular interest for him--no East African garden bloggers yet, but he might enjoy the videos of wild birds at the United Kingdom blogs.
If he wants to locate native plant bloggers who share some of his particular enthusiasms (manzanita, anyone?) he can type the plant name in to "search blogs" and he'll receive a list of posts about it.
Believe me, there are posts on "mountain lions" too, so that should give him something to chew on, these long winter nights.
Posts
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18 comments:
Wow, close encounters. Nice post.
Welcome Gardeness! Yes, I have seen mountain lion paw prints in my garden, but no, I am not the photographer of this fellow.
I love the way at first glance the lion seems to be approaching through a large mound of parley!
Very cute post talking about the benifits of Blogger. It is ever so nice to have blogging friends near. I hope the cougar found some:)
Oh no, he won't want to hook up with you Sierra Nevada bloggers. While your posts suggest ways to keep the deer out of your gardens, he's more interested in "10 plants deer will be so busy eating they won't notice ME eating THEM"!
(Congrats on the soon to be bestowed red star)
Emily, Yes it looks like parsley--and then one remembers that the lion is the size of an adult human. What's that rustling I hear in the leaves?
Tina, Local bloggers are SO helpful--I am grateful to Blotanical for making it easy to find them. Garden Bliss blog in Sacramento has also done a good job of keeping tabs on all of us. Waiting to see if the lion logs in.
Susan, I wonder which would be more work for the lion--all that stalking, or instead clearing a patch in the woods for tender plants to attract deer? If I see a wild rose garden near a trail I'll be extra aware!
Maybe Mr./Ms. Mnt. Lion would have been a good guest at that famous dinner party ;-> Very impressive shot! And yes, I agree, Blotanical is a great place to meet (still think that UI is a tad odd, but one gets used to it).
Town Mouse, Dinner party guest lists are always such a challenge, aren't they? Especially when a potential guest is an obligate carnivore and the menu is vegetarian....
DP~~ Entertaining post on the merits of our beloved Blotanical. If this critter--a very large and menacing but equally fascinating one--is living in your 'hood, I hope you'll share more about living with neighbors of this nature. Such as, do you let small children out to play? Cats, dogs?
Welcome to the red star club! Nice post & cleverly written. ;)
Hi DP
My first time here. I'm not exactly local to you.
That's some pet. What do you feed her, Wildebeest and the like?
Rob
Grace, It's a funny neighborhood--1/2 acre lots and paved roads, but we have deer, the occasional bear and who knows about the lions. Seeing the lion paw print in the mud, complete with claw marks where the lion had slipped, riveted my attention. I don't take the trash out after dark! Almost everyone in the neighborhood has a dog so I suspect that keeps the big cats away.
PG, Welcome and glad you enjoyed the Tale of the Blogging Lion.
Rob, Welcome and thanks for making the long trip! The pretty mule deer are what keep our lions going. See the dinner party post below for a photo of our local breed of deer.
My goodness, can't believe the closeup of the mountain lion! We have actually had them here in our suburban neighborhood twice over the last couple of years, and the schools were 'locked down'!! They can be dangerous when hungry, especially for small children walking in the neighborhood!! We get deer here too...but not as often, now that most of the woods in the area have been torn out and paved over;-(
Jan, Human attacks are rare, but they do happen--lone runners in the woods are sometimes at risk. If you see a lion you're supposed to stand facing it and make yourself look as big as possible, maybe holding out your coat.
Lions follow the deer, so if you have deer....
good one!!
Janet, Thanks!
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