Albuquerque in 2006!!

Agreed. I have a biologist friend who calls deer "nature's snack food." That's pretty much what they are - plentiful, tasty treats for other species which have evolved with even an ounce of common sense.

Yesterday afternoon I went out for a walk with my companion in crime, Miz Belle Starr. There is a hiking trail which skirts the boundary of the city and the National Forest about 3 blocks from my home. Starr and I have walked that trail before. Yesterday, I became curious about a ravine that cuts into the trail, so I went up it to explore with my little 4-footed companion. There were some great rock formations and surprisingly old pinon trees. We followed a deer path that had many fresh droppings on it to Starr's delight. At one point I paused to look back over the scenery, bemused by this interface of the wild and the city. I could see the traffic on a major road perhaps 5 miles away across the canyon.

I felt a sudden frisson of terror as I realized that I was out on this game path at dusk, breaking one of my own most steadfast rules. Cougars have been sighted often at the edges of my town and gobbled down wayward poodles and daring domestic cats who strayed a bit too far from home.

Then I shrugged my shoulders philosophically. I have already survived 3 encounters with deer, one of which actually caused me to die for a few moments in an ER. If a cougar got me, at least it would be swift and painless. Cougars lie in wait and go straight for their prey's neck, snapping it and killing them almost instantly. When I go, I wouldn't mind going at the paws of a cougar. It seems a nobler ending then having a collision with that idiot, Bambi, out on the highway. Starr and I resumed our ramble and returned home unharmed for me to write this post the next day.