Of Rats and Quicksand

...with apologies to Steinbeck. The kangaroo rat has proven to be a thorn in many a developer's side, and guess what - yep, we got 'em. Cute little critters, really, and they are certainly NOT endangered in our biome. A favorite meal of local coyotes by evidence of their scat, we actually host two varieties. I forget which is which, but one cousin lives in the rocks, the other in the flats. They hop like kangaroos on hind legs; to date, I have only seen them in my headlights, but Mike R. says there are quite a few that come out after dark.

Probably the most surprising revelation from Mike R. is the occasional danger of quicksand. Hello, quicksand? Apparently, Mike lost a truck to the sneaky stuff, and there is a real danger in the area after rains. Springs and artesian wells bubble up and create a nearly invisible danger that also nearly claimed one of his horses. I will definitely read up on the stuff and look for danger signs.