Can I talk about this for just a moment? Some of you already saw the short video I posted or the one still shot on FaceBook and Instagram, but for those of you missed it, these two bobcat kittens, or the Bobsey Twins as I am calling them, were in our backyard recently. Yes, In Our Backyard! Wow! To say that it was a surprise is like saying that the Rocky Mountains are on the tall side. Yeah, I'm still wowing about it today. We actually have seen an adult Bobcat in our backyard a few times. Just a quick glimpse as it trotted across the backyard. The cat never lingered, but neither did it rush. Just a straight line diagonally from one side of the backyard to the other and then it disappeared into the thick line of trees. Gone. If you blinked, you missed it. And then you are left wondering if you ever saw that wild cat at all. The Bobkitty adult didn't show up every day, or every other day, or any other pattern that we could determine. But then we also don't spend our days just standing at the back windows, waiting to see what's out there either. And then there is the whole window issue altogether. Our family room, which is the largest room in our house, runs across the back. Three of the four walls (the room being roughly a rectangle) are mostly windows, 14 of them in fact. That is a lot of windows. We are quite sure that at one time this was actually the lanai of the house and at some point, someone closed it in. (note: a lani is like a screen porch only in Florida). These windows are a quirky assortment as well. No two of them match exactly and only a few of them open. Like I said, it's quirky. But regardless of the size or shape of the windows, they are ordinary, old fashioned, single pane glass. Which means that while the room is bright and sunny it can also get hot. And since this is Florida it can get very hot. When we moved in there were a complicated series of very thick, very heavy, very ugly and extremely filthy lined draperies over every single window. I suppose that is one way to solve the problem. The room felt like a cave. Our solution was blinds. The blinds are made of some sort of fabric so light passes through them but it knocks down the heat. It works. The room is cooler but still light. And in the interest of making the room of bearable temperature, most of the year, the blinds are left down. I only open them on cooler or gloomy days. So in absolute fairness, most of the time I cannot see into the back yard. I have no idea what's going on out there. There could be aliens landing or muskrats playing skee ball. I have not a clue. I suppose I should also mention that we spend Zero amount of time in the back yard. I am only ever back there to trim trees or pick up deadfall from the ground. That's it. Oh and the the lawn guys come by once a week. Our backyard only serves as a buffer between us and our neighbors. There is no pool or patio back there and we have no dog or small children, so there is absolutely no reason to be back there. And I guess that is part of the attraction for wild creatures. Last week it suddenly got a lot cooler around here, which was a nice change of pace, and for a few days it was really cloudy too, gloomy in fact. So, for a change, I bothered to pull the blinds up to allow as much light as possible into the room. Then I went about my day, doing what I do. And not much of it involved the family room. Until I took it in my head to do some dusting. I stepped into the room, glanced out the window and came to a screeching halt. It was not one adult Bobcat but two youngsters and they were tussling just like my boys did when they were little. Like regular housecat kittens only a lot bigger. Every once in awhile they would stop smacking each other around long enough to be so adorable I could barely stand it! Then they would just sit and rest for a little bit And then they would start wrestling all over again. Tim and I just stood there watching for the longest time. Who needs TV? We have Wild Kingdom in our backyard (apparently!)
But eventually Mama called them and they obediently trotted off into the tree line and disappeared from sight. It was so awesome. I've left the blinds up for now in hopes that we would get to see another Bobkitten show, but nothing so far. Eventually it will get too warm again and I will have to lower the blinds and then I definitely will not see them. At least I got this one time, with photographic evidence! We just love that all these wild creatures like our yard and feel safe here.
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AuthorYup, this is me. Some people said, "Sam, you should write a Blog". "Well, there's a thought", I thought to myself. And so here it is. Archives
April 2024
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