There have been other exciting discoveries; exciting and frightening, all of which have the potential to seriously harm us! We have many, many bees that keep us company as we move about the the land. They are busy collecting nectar from the lovely white buckwheat flowers which cover the hillsides and pastures. These bees, we've discovered, are ALL members of one happy gigantic hive that looks just like a classic Winney-the-Pooh style honey hole tree hive. Picture a large oak, about 20 feet up a large hole dripping with honey. This hive has surely been active for a very long time. A friend gave us a community newspapers and one article told of a few deaths in the area from Africanized bees. But this hive we found is high in a tree, uncharacteristic of Africanized bees which build closer to the ground, so I'm hoping they are not going to be a problem for us. Later that evening we also discovered we have a thriving tarantula community. Drew and I laid down to star gaze on a hillside dominated by an outcropping of flat granite rock. The hillside looked and felt like frosting dripping off a cake, and was still warm from the days sun. It seemed like a great spot for star gazing. After completely enjoying the view of the pastures and night sky, I sat up having flet a suspicious touch near my ankle. I looked down, then moved further in until, just a foot from my face I said, "It looks like a spider!" Drew identified it quickly and since it was nearly two inches long, we ran quickly down from the rock.
Oh, and then there's the mountain lioness and her cub. The dirt roads and the pond banks are all littered with their foot prints. Mountain lions, or pumas, are commonly called the ghost cat, since they are rarely ever seen. As we explored a less used road at the top of the land we stopped a few times to pause and listen as Drew suspected something was us. We continued walking and rounded a bend in the road when I heard a cup meow and the Drew saw an adult cat leap into a tree. They were far enough down the hill that all we thought to do was leave and we did quickly. Ususally you are not to run from a preditor, but we did. We are always sure to look up in trees when we are walking and to always be aware of everything around us. As long as we don't surprise or frighten them, we are sure they will not harm us.
On a more pleasant note, we enjoyed ended the evening by watching the solo night flight of a owl as he/she flew back and forth along the dirt road. That was sweet.
