“There’s a mountain lion near the haystack. It’s a big one.”

Kevin and I had just left the house and were headed to a late night movie when the cell phone rang. Kevin joked, “I bet the kids want us to bring them ice cream.”

“I bet they’re arguing over who has to get the eggs and who has to do the dishes,” I said.

Cougars were not in our top three. I’m not sure they were even on our list of possibilities.

“Dad? When Dylan went out to feed the horses, he saw a mountain lion. There’s a mountain lion near the haystack. It’s a big one. What do we do?” Shelby asked.

“Keep the dogs in the house,” Kevin said. “Don’t worry about the eggs. It’s after the deer that have come down from the hills looking for better forage. It’ll leave soon.”

Time to warn the neighbors and circle the wagons again.

Yep. It’s fall.