Okay, here is MY bobcat story. You all probably know that I have spent many, MANY hours hiking, birding and canoeing in the Florida wild places. Ever since I was in my 20's, I have wanted to see a bobcat. However, apparently bobcats have never wanted to see ME. No matter where I was or who I was with, or how often bobcats had been spotted in the area previously, years and years and years went by, and I never saw a single one. Once when I was birding in the very early hours of the morning on Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, I saw a Florida panther strolling down the road in front of my car. She stopped and watched us long enough for me to get out my telescope (or stellatope as Tabby calls it) and enjoy some close up views of her. I mean, I saw one of the rarest animals in Florida, if not in the country, but I still hadn't seen a bobcat. (Which are quite plentiful, btw). Fast forward a few years and I'm approaching 60 with no bobcat viewings to look back on fondly. After walking many a mile in the woods and swamps and fields of the state...not a one. But one afternoon, driving home from Publix, down a urban road in Lake Mary, next to a subdivision, just past a church, a mile from a school, nowhere near a woods...there, streaking across the road in front of my car was...yes...a BOBCAT!!! My one and only glimpse of one was practically in the Publix parking lot! I have to say I almost ran the car off the road in excitement. Boy, if I thought I could entice BOBCATS into my backyard, I would tie the squirrels to tiny little stakes as lures!! They are beautiful animals, and so clever and crafty. Lucky you, GP, to have seen one in your own YARD!!! Now THAT'S a garden!! Marcia

George, I can just imagine the expression on your son's face as the cougar ran to him! Can you imagine what the cougar was thinking when he could smell a deer and not see one? I bet he was confused. Jessaka, That's been one of the hardest things for me to keep in perspective since moving to the country....that everything in the web of life either eats something or gets eaten by something. I know that's the way the ecosystem works, but I hate it when I see a coyote with a rabbit in its mouth or whatever. I hate it even more when I see a coyote running off with someone's cat or chicken. It is natural though. The other day, a neighbor who lives a couple of miles up the road from us warned me to be on the lookout because her DH had seen a bobcat running up the road. I told her that I was "aware" of the situation because we have two bobcat trails through our property and I have been seeing bobcats several times a week. She's at the opposite end of our roadway where there is a neighborhood of closely spaced homes and not nearly as much wildlife as our end of the road with much more widely spaced homes and ranches and lots of wild land available for the wildlife. I always enjoy seeing the wild things around, but there are times I wish they'd stay a bit further away from our house and animals. Dawn

What an organized soul you are! Thank you for sharing your blog. It is very interesting and I love reading it. Look forward to updates because it is going to be a beautiful home. FWIW, I think you did the smart thing by buying the extra 3 acres. My DH would love to get his hands on that Bobcat for our property LOL! Good luck with your build--may the process be smooth and actually enjoyable!

A neighbor was trapping coyotes. They are killing his livestock and such. There are so many of them. We live a couple hours away and a neighbor was checking them daily while he was away. He called and told us there was a bobcat trapped. My husband drove right down and drove up on the hill. It was dark so they knew they couldn't release it. My hubby knew he needed to leave a piece of clothing close by for the human sent so a coyote wouldn't kill it. He left a jacket on a bush. They are a protected specie. We don't trap but you can't stop someone else from doing it when it is legal to do so. We just keep an eye on them because they are close to our property.