'Tis the Season: Snow and Bobcats

The weather forecast said it would be Spring today but the world looked like winter when we awakened. We hiked in the clouds with light snow falling. I was a tiny bit disappointed, having hoped for a sunny hike, but a good game of fetch always makes both me and Shyla happy.

Then, we practiced her new trick of balancing things on her head. I think she has the idea. She knew not to swivel her head to look at whatever was off to the side. Instead, she just swiveled her eyes, keeping her toy balanced on her head.

I loved the look!

With the weather being gloomy, I thought that checking some trail cameras would be fun. At one site, very close to our house, bobcats visited at least twice per day. It looked to me like two different bobcats who were leaving marks for each other. The one who marked during the day was the larger one, perhaps a male. I suspect that we have bobcat courtship underway in our neck of the woods.

The smaller bobcat had scraped this spot with her paws. This bigger bobcat rubbed his neck in the spot.

 Then, he sniffed the stump where the smaller bobcat had rubbed her butt.

Finally, he scraped with his hind paws, and departed with his mouth wide open. I wonder if he was giving a cat call!

Another site that sits about a mile away also had tons of bobcat activity. Mostly, they were marking the ground down where the bobcat was in this first photo.

But this guy was fascinated with the camera. He checked it out.

And then he strutted away.

I must say that Shyla was fascinated with the scents at both camera sites. Neither is a sensitive or isolated site so I don't worry about taking her to them. I don't think her scent will upset the delicate mating season communications that are underway.

When we arrived home from our hike, Shyla conquered a long-standing fear and got a special treat - yogurt! She has always been afraid to clean out our large yogurt containers because she has to put her snout deep in the container to lick out the bottom. Today, she did it!!!

And she wore her badge of honor on her nose!