Thanks Lori, for sharing this lovely moment. A variety of animals make regular visits to my Sierra homestead and I try very hard each day to get myself up and off my computer keyboard to allow time to notice what they're up to. A couple of hummingbirds have decided to winter over this year. I usually remove the feeders in early November, but this year I forgot and am now kicking myself because I wonder how much I have influenced and rearranged their natural practices. It is humbling to realize the constant impacts of human presence. A bear found my WVO (waste vegetable oil) stash for my diesel VW and ransacked more than 20 gallons of the stuff. My step-daughter opened the door to the storage room and out came the bear, all slick with turkey fryer oil. They both were wide-eyed in surprise. Not much harm done, except to my plans for filtering my own oil. I'll be switching to biodiesel instead of stockpiling the secret ingredient for bear lures...sheesh. And on my way to the airport last week in the wee hours, I was treated to more than a fleeting glimpse of a long-legged bobcat with tufted ears and a puff of a tail. You don't see those guys sauntering up the road too often. Glad I had to catch that red-eye. I was saddened by the story of the elderly woman who beat a mountain lion off her husband of 50 years as they walked along a trail in the Sierra foothills. Not so much because of the attack, but because in an interview they said they learned that it's not safe to walk in the woods (!). As I walk a 3 mile loop on old skid trails in the forest near my home, my mantra is to be good food to any mountain lion who will take me. I'm in THEIR territory after all. I've seen 2 lions in my 13 years here and I consider it a rare privilege to be reminded that we are all animals on this earth. Thanks for making your connection to animals down there in the wilds of San Francisco! Catherine Stifter