Mountain lion print~That's My World 120710 Outdoor Wednesday and ABC Wednesday

I drove up yesterday, Sunday, to visit my horses and get slobbered on by them. I wasn't sure if I would even go. It was a cloudy, cold day and I remembered last Sunday when it was so cold I had to wear 5 layers of clothing! After battling bronchitis, I didn't wish to come down with a chill (and a relapse), so I debated driving up at all. They are boarded by a wonderful woman who has her own horses on her ranch and I never worry about them going without food, but sometimes I just need some "horse time" and yesterday was one of those days. So, after I completed my morning walk, I bundled up and grabbed my cameras and off I went. I had plenty of time, so I stopped on my favorite dirt side road off Deep Canyon to investigate some dried mud. I nearly missed the tracks in it and spotted them as I was about to leave. Upon closer investigation, I concluded they were mountain lion tracks. Hmmmm......I measured them with my foot and saw where they headed (see the shot of the tree and ROCKS). So, off I went to do horse stuff and I kept thinking about those footprints while I fed my horses as extra meal. On my way back home, I stopped at the side road again to investigate them and put my hand next to them (see photo). Unfortunately, about that time I realized that I had horse smells and horse slobber all over me and I would be a tempting meal for that very same mountain lion! Every neutron in my brain was screaming, "RUN!" butI remembered my husband's advice that he gave me once out on the Mogollon Rim. "Don't run, that's prey behavior!" so I calmly walked back to my car, realizing that, once again, I was somewhere ALONE, and nobody knew where I was...sigh...I really don't think I was in any danger. The prints were from last weekend, but this time, when I got out of the car to investigate, there WAS a very heavy cat urine smell (I know, because I have 5 cats!)...so, to be on the safe side, I decided to leave and maybe next time hubby will be with me! I'm grateful that I did have the opportunity to see these prints and photo them, but next time, I do believe I'll be a little more cautious and think about my own safety. That's My World for Tuesday, December 7, 2010 and Outdoor Wednesday. And since it is so UNUSUAL to see any sign of a mountain lion, I'm also including this post for ABC Wednesday! (U for unusual). To see other ABC participants, please visit: http://abcwednesdayround3.blogspot.com/. To see other Outdoor Wednesday participants, please visit: http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ Oh, no! Don't worry about the horses. They are about 12 miles away from this area and they are in a "peopled" area with lots of dogs around!