We only observe that which we are ready to see. Are Nature’s rarest residents truly elusive, or is it only the overactivity of the mind…the anticipation? Last year the WLT was graced an image from one of the tree cams in Grills Preserve of the areas largest wild feline, the Bobcat. I was determined to seek her out. Since the end of June and the beginning of this project, I’ve entered Grills Preserve with a single focus. Until today, I hadn’t realized how much emphasis I had put on the Bobcat tracking, and how much else I may have missed as a result. Time with the otter family haven’t seemed to disconnect me from the rest of my time in other preserves. Perhaps my uncertainty and lack of confidence in the potential of the same kind of relationship with the Bobcats has led me to intensify my excitement. In the winter, I had glimpsed her twice from afar, both times very much a surprise and separate from my tracking attempts. This time was different.

This time the air was warm. The ground was wet enough for subtle markings and traces to be obvious. This time the scat was fresh. The timing was right. I was open, moving slowly, hands and knees trying to determine the next twist in her trail. I took a few minutes to relax and get my bearings. I was right upon her. I had to be. I tried to let go of the doubts, the concerns that I had been scented a very long time ago, and the light breeze was blowing my excitement right in her direction. I inhaled my environment deeply, reminding myself of the acceptance the preserves and its inhabitants have granted me. As I exhaled smoothly, only a few feet from me she stood, coat glistening from the underbrush. I almost laughed aloud, since when she returned from an itch with one eye open, one lip stayed lifted for a moment longer against the friction of a dry mouth. She shook her head and yawned, stretching tail to giant ears and continued her jaunt in away from me. I considered following, but today I decided to stay and observe. I eased my excitement, the feelings that come with thinking you’ve caught a glimpse of something special for the last time, and the overthoughts that make you think you should have done something different… I settled into my earthy seat.

Perhaps there will be another near-future encounter…