Well, after the rain so far this week, I might get a break to spot some more fresh prints in the mud before the next big storm arrives. Yes, they're out there either watching or more likely napping. Cougars potentially hunt during daytime, but prefer the extra stealth night provides. The beginning of the tom turkeys showing off, trying to impress the hens and compete with one another using the sheer vanity of tail feather fan displays, has already begun; so it's also logically the time for both wild turkey photography or mountain lions more easily catching them. I just missed a lion sighting a couple years ago in such an opportune situation, but a couple hiking lower down on the same trail did see it slink away into the brush. Coyotes are also more nonchalant this time of year than usual. The particular coyote who has now bitten six people in a local shopping center was just trapped an euthanized; DNA tests confirm only a single coyote was involved in all those incidents.