No April Fool's Joke!

One of the joys of living in the Black Hills region is the amazing scenery and the friendly people. Having deer wander into the neighborhood -- hopefully not too often -- makes it seem like we're almost living in the woods!

This morning (4/1/1), however, we had a new experience, when we spotted some very big animal prints out in the back yard. We seldom have dogs running loose in this area, although we do have lots of deer. Upon closer examination, it was apparent that these prints, which measured six inches across and eight inches in length, belonged either to a big dog or a mountain lion. The photograph on the left is shown with my ballpoint pen included to illustrate the relative size of the animal track.

I shared my photographs with a biologist at the U.S. Forest Service office. He indicated that the tracks could very well have been from a mountain lion -- but the pictures were inconclusive. Upon returning to our Yellowstone Place neighborhood in north Spearfish, I spotted two police officers walking into the street from the yards behind our house. I asked if they'd been investigating the tracks -- and what they thought.

There was no doubt in their minds that the prints were made by mountain lions.

We enjoy our environment. And this bit of news provided the neighborhood with a bit of excitement; however, we've decided it's an excitement that we'd just as soon not experience very often.