Rhododendron bed, that is!
Yesterday was the first day back for the “Garden Girls” after a winter break in their usually nonstop work schedule. The two women have been looking after the flower beds (and more!) here at this house since 2019 when Nyel wisely suggested that perhaps I could use some “help” outside. By now, they do it all — nothing added to the mix from me except questions and clapping!
So, yesterday on their first day back since last October, the three of us took a “walk about” to see what the immediate and long-term needs might be. They were quick to spot the crocuses and daffodils (where’d they come from?) and other early signs of Spring. And then, when we got to the rhododendrons along the east fence: “Oh, my gosh! It looks like some big animal has been ‘nesting’ here!”
A cougar they thought. YIKES! And sure enough, broken rhodie branches and torn up Dorothy Perkins roses and wild blackberries were smooshed down between the fence and the Jean Maries — almost unnoticeable and certainly hidden from my usual vantage point at the house. But whoever was settling in, no doubt had a clear view of me. YIKES.
“Why a cougar?” I asked. I hadn’t heard of one in the area for years — not since Dan Driscoll reported one to the Wildlife people out of worry for his daughter who was then quite young.
It seems that a garden client’s cat had “disappeared” recently and the women had found its scanty remains, typical of a cougar kill — in Nahcotta! Only four miles away.
According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: Adult male cougars roam widely, covering a home range of 50 to 150 square miles, depending on the age of the cougar, the time of year, type of terrain, and availability of prey. Adult male cougars’ home ranges will often overlap those of three or four females. And… though mostly nocturnal, not necessarily…
So… I’m not going back out there to take a picture of the “nest.” And maybe some of the non-leash-law-abiding among us should think twice for a while.
