On Sunday evening, after a summertime barbecue and marshmallow roast, people were wandering in the backyard when Bella, our ten pound long haired miniature Dachshund, stopped cold, put her ears on on full alert, and then turned tail and ran straight into the house and into my lap. &nbsp;We&#039;ve been doing some landscaping in our back yard. &nbsp;Sod is coming tomorrow. &nbsp;On Sunday there was mud. &nbsp;When she leaped into my lap, a good deal of mud landed on my previously pristine pink shirt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The next morning when Daphne went outside to do her doggy duty, she expressed undue interest in something which turned out to be NOT doggy doo-doo. &nbsp;I had been left behind by an entity that did not pick up after itself. &nbsp;Later that morning a neighborhood e-mail alert went out including a photo from a neighbor whose yard backs up on the corner of ours. &nbsp;The picture, taken on Sunday afternoon in broad daylight, was a portrait of a young bobcat strolling along their driveway. &nbsp;I believe Bella got the message.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So I&#039;ve been thinking about bobcats this week--bobcats and their near relations.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I went to Bisbee High School, I became a Puma. &nbsp;(Bisbee&#039;s colors are red and gray, like the red shale hills and limestone cliffs that surround the town.) &nbsp;And although I was a Puma, I never saw one. &nbsp;My brother Jim did. &nbsp;He was coming home late one night from an insurance appointment in Willcox when he had a flat tire. &nbsp;He was changing the tire when the cat showed up. &nbsp;As I recall, he dove under the vehicle, tire iron in hand, at a speed that would have left Superman in the dust.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then I enrolled at the University of Arizona where I became a Wildcat. &nbsp;Are wildcats pumas or are they something else? &nbsp;Maybe they&#039;re kitten cousins as it were. &nbsp;(Sorry about the pun. &nbsp;I couldn&#039;t resist.) &nbsp;At any rate, I started out as a Wildcat in 1962 and the U of A Alumni Association has sent me a sticker that says I&#039;m a Wildcat for Life, so I&#039;m evidently not going to get over it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then I married Bill who had not one but three kids who were going to WSU. &nbsp;That made them Cougars, and it made me a Cougar Mom. &nbsp;(This terminology predates the current usage of cougar which implies an &quot;older&quot; woman preying on a younger man.) &nbsp;As far as I can tell, there is no set category that covers Cougar Step Moms, but that&#039;s what I am. &nbsp;Or at least it&#039;s what I HAVE been. &nbsp;And having attended more than one Cougar Moms&#039; weekend and seeing what some Cougar &nbsp;Moms can get up to when they think no one is watching is pretty &quot;UNBELIEVABLE!!&quot; as the sales guru Tom Hopkins used to put it. &nbsp;You see, the word UNBELIEVABLE!! is one of those useful terms that can go either way and imply either very good or very bad. &nbsp;If you&#039;ve been to a Cougar Moms&#039; Weekend, you probably have plenty of examples of both.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But now I&#039;ve been promoted. &nbsp;As of this week, my oldest granddaughter is now at WSU. &nbsp;That makes me a Cougar Grandmother! &nbsp;If they established a Cougar Grandmother&#039;s Weekend, I would guess that those of us who came of age in the Sixties could teach the current crop of Cougar Moms a thing or two. &nbsp;And I&#039;m sure we would be UNBELIEVABLE!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now where did I put that recipe for Cougar Gold Cheese Dip?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;