Wildlife at Las Palmas Ranch

The unexpected often appears as Angelica Blatt gazes out her window.

That's why Blatt positions her Nikon within easy reach. She can grab her camera, focus in and, with a snap, capture the moment in all its digital glory.

Blatt lives in a gated community off River Road.

From her house, she sees the winter moon rising and the valley floor silvery in the morning mist.

She also sees the silent migration of foxes, coyotes, deer and other natives as they crisscross the land.

In bitter cold, in hail and rain, the animals roam, seeking enough food and water to get them through the day and night.

Much of the wildlife drifts in from nearby Toro Regional Park. No fence separates those untamed lands from Blatt's property, and the animals move at will.

"Like this big bobcat," Blatt said. "It walked by my kitchen window and along the side of the house. I happened to have my camera on the table.

"I grabbed it and went out the door. I can't believe I did that."

Blatt, who has lived in her house five years, has seen a few tarantulas, too, and wild turkeys.

"And a huge king snake," she said.

Hawks glide through a nearby canyon. Quail hunch and rustle through the underbrush. Bunnies hop and stand on their back legs to reach and nibble little plants.

Blatt sets out feeders for hummingbirds, which dart and hover and stop, quivering a fluorescent purple and green in the air.

Like so many in Monterey County, Blatt and her family - she has twins 2 1/2 years old - live in a house on land that connects to expanses still untamed.

Monterey County is among the dwindling number of places on Earth where anyone hiking in a regional park or along the shore of the bay may suddenly encounter a spectacular natural moment.

Everything from whales breaching to dolphins feeding to the ghostly silhouette of a mountain lion crossing a trail.

One day at Blatt's house, a buck with antlers peered into her window. He was apparently curious about the two-legged creatures within.

"He wasn't startled," Blatt said. "He just sort of munched along. I got a really neat picture of that buck."

The bobcat that walked past her house sprinted down the hill once Blatt stepped out her door.

"My adrenalin was going," she recalled. "The bobcat looked back at me. I snapped its photo.

"I didn't even think about being afraid."

THIS IS A COPY OF AN ARTICLE THAT APPEARED IN THE SALINAS CALIFORNIAN AND OFF 68 NEWSPAPERS. MORE PHOTOS TO FOLLOW!