Cat Tracks

 This morning was quiet on the last bit of the ranch. The Cat excavator left in place by the contractors, in preparation for the Monday assault, is the only piece of equipment visible. But it is parked in such a way as to be prominently in view while standing in the Sandy Bottom and looking towards the McDowell Mountains. 

It is a hundred yards away at least, but it is parked facing directly towards my position, and the Saguaro, and the Ironwood, as if it tasted victory and wants more. I wonder if the tire tracks that slash across both channels of the dry wash upstream from the Palo Verde were the result of any need, or perhaps Friday afternoon joyriding. 

At least it is the best place they could have chosen to slash through the brush. The important crossing is slightly downstream, not at the Sandy Bottom---which is sheltered by the brush---but downstream from the Ironwood about twenty feet. 

One finds a natural path made by the animals as they cut diagonally across the property. I have seen a coyote there, as well as a pod of deer scampering on the same route. The roadrunner is never far off its track. 

From there the animals come and go through an opening in what remains of the barbed wire fence at the property line, going into to State Land Trust property on the other side, where one finds the power lines. It is to there I may have to retreat soon as well. Every day is a treasure now, that I can linger in my favorite spots.