We saw a bobcat at Roundrock when we were out there recently. I know for some people this is a backyard occurrence, but for us, it's a treat to see one as frequently as once a year. This one crossed the road ahead of us as we were driving in. It was in no hurry, just sauntering, but it was by in a flash. Had we come by ten seconds earlier or later, we would have missed it. I've long suspected that the wild things are all around us when we're out there, but they stay hidden. It's the reason I'm reluctant to take little Queequeg (all of 10 pounds!) out to the woods with us. If he strayed from us a dozen feet, he might get snatched by some critter just looking for an opportunity. Flike, on the other hand, is going to be a small moose, and I don't think he'll have any trouble venturing through the scrub or warding off predators.

You might find the Outdoors Bloggers Summit an interesting site. I've only begun exploring it, but it seems to be a different subset of nature bloggers than I've seen at the other aggregating sites. Along with many general outdoors blogs, they have categories for water sports, hunting, hiking, even falconry and mushing!

Today is the deadline for submissions to the next Festival of the Trees, over at Via Negativa. Send links to your tree posts (or those you've found) to bontasaurus (at) yahoo (dot) com or use the handy Contact Form. You can follow the Festival on Twitter @treebloggers and on Identica @treebloggers. And don't forget that we're always on the prowl for hosts. If you're interested, just let me know. My new email address is paul (at) roundrockjournal (dot) com.

I guess I didn't realize that the purple paint that landowners put on trees and posts -- to tell trespassers to keep out and not hunt there -- is actually a law in Missouri. It is as legally recognized as a Private Property sign. Of course if it's not personally respected by an interloper it becomes little more than a decoration.

I've added a few more terms to the Glossary, so have a look if you're confused by my blather.

Tomorrow: Something interesting. Missouri calendar:

• Voles and mice feed on grass and seeds under the snow.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 1:01 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.