Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...

I had a pretty amazing surprise when I looked out my window this morning:

Backyard Bobcats of the Day!

 There were three of them, one outside the garden, and the other two inside. By the time I ran downstairs and got my camera (Huzzah! I already had the telephoto lens on it!), one had disappeared into the brambles, but the other two were circling inside the garden like they couldn't figure out how to get out. Which would be crazy, because they walked in through the doorway - the gate fell down months ago and is buried under two feet of snow. (Stick with it - the best shot is almost at the end).

 At first I thought the three were all babies - or at least youngsters, but of these two, the one at the top of the picture looks bigger (and has a longer tail, though I don't know if that means anything), so maybe it's a mother and two cubs? (Or kittens? Are they called kittens? They are cats, but lion cubs and tiger cubs are called cubs... I am going to go with cubs). I didn't get a good look at the third one, as it was gone pretty fast. Backyard spotting is largely about good timing...

 The smaller one jumped out over the fence, but this one continued to find the fence confusing.

 Or maybe it was looking form something. I don't know.

 Finally over the fence.

 Why does there always have to be something between me and my subject.

 A bit of a clumsy moment? The snow is deep, but there is a hard crust on top - when I walk on it without snowshoes I sink up to my knees, but the bobcats are able to walk on top of it. However, the fact that I and the deer have been walking around out there, making footprints that then get snowed on, means that the surface of the snow in parts of the backyard is very lumpy and full of divots.

 Looking to where the others went.

 I didn't want it to get away without a better look at the face, so I opened the window and said "Psst!" It stopped and turned to look at me. Perfect! Well, except for the vine in front of the face.

 And away it went...

I went out later to look for footprints, and found faint ones all over the garden - and also leading into the garden gate, and out over the fence, into the briars. There is a thin layer of newish snow on top of the crust, but the footprints were too shallow to get good pictures, especially on such an overcast day, with no shadows. I bumped up the leves on this one so you can see them.

This is not the first time we have seen bobcats in the backyard, but it is the first definite sighting in a couple of years (my husband caught a glimpse of what he thought might be a bobcat last year). This is, however, the first time we have seen more than one - mother and cubs, or just cubs. It was pretty exciting - except for the part where I nearly wiped out running to get my camera, because my socks were really slippery.

So, predators are the theme on the blog lately... I miss the bugs, but this is a pretty thrilling substitute!

On that note, it's snowing again, and it has remained cold, but the forecast for Wednesday, if it pans out, is for rain and... 46ºF! Which means maybe there will be some bugs out and about! I am sure they are as ready for winter to be over as the rest of us - especially after just enduring the coldest February on record. I'm not going to get my hopes up... but...  my fingers are crossed!