Foothills in the snow - Cougar and human

Here in the Colorado foothills, we have snow. Maybe you are thinking “Colorado – winter – snow – duh!” but the truth is winters at the foothills of the Rockies are a milder than many other places. It is nothing to experience 60° days in January and February. In fact, our average temperature is usually in the 40’s.  It is also normal for the snow to melt within a day or two, so the fact that the snow has remained for a couple of days is unusual for us.  What I love about the snow is the stories that it tells me.

We live on a hillside with a wonderful view of Roxborough Park and the Pike National Forest.  When the snow doesn’t melt by the next day, it is covered with the paw prints, hoof prints, and yes, even footprints. 

Ken went outside to shovel the snow and discovered these paw prints just outside our garage. Yes, those are mountain lion prints.  The prints next to the lion’s prints are probably fox prints. I would like to think that these sets of prints were put down a few hours apart, not the lion chasing the fox.

I don’t mind the mountain lions and foxes walking around our house, but I am more afraid of the human footprints the snow shows as well. These footprints appear around many houses in our neighborhood as well as the reports of a peeping tom. We see evidence of someone walking up to our doors and windows, obviously checking to see if they were locked. Thank goodness they were.

I would rather have the mountain lion prints.

Back to the needles.