An Invisible Bobcat, and a Wet Wedding ... almost.

Saturday morning before the sun was up, I stood at my kitchen sink looking across the Horse Pasture in front of my house.  As I scanned the hillside, a bit of motion caught my attention.  Glancing to where I thought I saw something ... there was nothing there.  Then, as if out of nowhere, a large bobcat took a step forward.  As soon as he stopped moving, he nearly disappeared again.

This is most probably the same cat, but was taken about 2 1/2 years ago. 

I marveled at how perfectly his mottled gray-brown colors matched the dry grass and granite rocks on the hillside.  Nature has given this big cat an amazing ability to blend into his surroundings.  I called Sharon to look.  At first she couldn't find him.  When he stepped forward, ghost-like, she exclaimed, "Oh. There he is."

A little closer look at this beautiful big boy.

This is a very big bobcat, most probably a male, and totally unafraid of being within 100 yards of humans and dogs.  Of course everybody was inside the house, but he was obviously used to hearing, seeing, and smelling us.

The big cat stepped over next to the fence, and sat down, then lay flat on his stomach almost as if he were watching for something to pounce on for a breakfast snack.  When he quit moving it was almost as if he totally disappeared again.

Even though the green grass helps see this beautiful guy, he blends in rather well.

He turned his head toward the house, revealing the brilliantly-black tips on his ears, and a big round fuzzy face, though the rest of his body blended into the surroundings.

I had things to do outside and figured as soon as I stepped out the back door and became visible to him, he'd get up and move on.  Not this guy.  I walked the length of the garage, got on my quad and started it, then drove down the driveway.

He never moved.  I saw his head turn toward me once, to make sure I was staying on "my side" of the pasture.  But then he unconcernedly turned back to watch whatever it was he was keeping his eyes on over there.

This is a pretty good-sized cat.

The weather around here has sure been in a state of flux.  I had a wedding to perform on Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. at River Island.  The rehearsal was Friday night at 6:00 but we got it in between showers with no problems.

Saturday afternoon at 2:30 our satellite TV signal began to break up from storm activity, and the rain came down with a vengeance depositing 0.20 in well under 30 minutes.  This did not look good for getting an outdoor wedding ceremony completed.

By 4:00 p.m. I was at River Island, watching a light sprinkle.  By 4:30 however, it quit, I set up my music and the altar, and covered them with a large plastic bag.  For an hour it looked as if we were going to make it in the dry.

About 5:45 the shower we'd been watching approach from the southeast arrived, sending the guests retreating to the dry, to see if the rain would stop.

Sure enough, by 6:00 the staff was quickly wiping chairs, the guests were seated again, and we had our wedding outside.  In fact, about half-way through the ceremony, during the Sands of Life Ceremony, one of the audience pointed to the east.  A big gorgeous rainbow had appeared over the Tule River Canyon.

The final tale of Pick the Mule appeared last Friday in the Recorder.  Several more really nice comments were heard, and one gent even said, "I shed a tear over Old Pick when I read your column."

I will read Chapter 3 of Fire on Black Mountain, my young reader book, this week at the critique group. I really am looking forward to getting this finished and ready for publication.  Then comes the REALLY hard part ... getting it sold.

Another busy week looms ahead, and another wedding this weekend.  This one is at Hummingbird Hollow, and under a roof.  The weather looks much less threatening this weekend however, so should be no problem.