Pack rat midden...

Pack rat midden...  We have several species of pack rats out here in the chaparral where we live.  Some of them build large middens, or nests, of interwoven twigs.  At right is one that we spotted near our home on a walk Debbie and I took yesterday.  I first ran into these nests about 15 years ago when I was clearing some brush on our property, and I was amazed how strong they are.  I've since read that the pack rats inside are quite well protected from predators like coyotes, who aren't strong enough or clever enough to disassemble the protective structure.  On the one in the photo, you can see one of the entrances to the nest (the dark half-moon shaped area); I found two more on other sides of it.  Altogether on our walk we saw seven of these, all within a 200 foot stretch of roadway...