Night moves 2

Here he comes again!

Last night the bear came and picked a fight with our raccoons - at least that's what it sounded like.  There was a lot of chirring and squealing and a bigger, piggish, huffing sound.  Couldn't see a thing, though.

Then a while later, the screech of nails being pulled from wood - short and sharp.  We still don't have a photo of the black bear but he left a swathe of destruction this time.

A permanent bird feeder that no bear has ever noticed before drew his attention.  Probably because all the neighbors have been warned and the hanging feeders are gone.  So, he must have been very miffed and not a little hungry for those tasty seeds.  Poor chickadee, surveying the damage.  This feeder has gone now, too.

The easiest way to escape all these enclosed back yards seems to be straight through the fence.  To a bear, these yards must seem like a series of boxed-in pens.  Oddly, the big dog next door, who barks at shadows,  never lets out a peep when the bear's around.  Well, maybe she's smarter than I think.

We reported the bear's presence to the Bear Hotline.  Their advice?  Take down all bird feeders and clean up any seeds on the ground.  The bears think this high protein, high-fat food is the best treat.  And they can smell it even in the shells on the ground that the squirrels leave.  So, we took down the feeder and dug up the ground.  Pole beans will be planted around the post.  Come the fall, the beans will all be eaten and the bear will be gone. The feeder will return. 

What will happen tonight when there is nothing at all for the bear?

Sunday wonders - G

G is for Generations.

Generations always include a mother, or two...

This is my Great-grandmother holding my father...

My Grandmother, who lived to be 103.  My father is now the Grandpa holding his grandson...

My mother is the middle little girl.  Lots of moms in this group...

Brothers are a great support to future mothers...

And to remember Mother's Day:   my mother and her daughters on her 60th birthday.  We only had one more year after that.  This is one of my favorite photos. 

Night moves

The black bear is back!

I didn't see him/her and it's pretty hard to believe the story.  Anne swears that there was a big black bear standing at our kitchen window in the middle of the night.  There are no photos since she was shaking in her slippers.  Rats!!  One should always have the camera ready...right?

It's pretty odd that such a big animal can swan about the back yard and leave no trace.  No crushed plants or broken branches.  The only thing that is different is our neighbor's bird feeder:  that's been pulled to the ground just as it was last time a bear visited.

I'm guessing that this is actually the same bear and remembers where the goodies were.  It must be slim pickings for the bears as they've been coming out of hibernation .  But I don't think they've ever been down this low on the mountain this early in the year. 

I'm quite glad that it wasn't me dancing in the dark with the looming shadow of a black bear. 

One Night

"we all have sutures on our hearts from the choices we've made..." 
This line from a spoken word performance by Lindsey Reid has haunted me since I heard it.   He was one of many young and talented artists who were a part of OneNight for OneDay.   A night of dance, song, and music which raised awareness and some money for imagine1day

All the performers are students in their various disciplines, all are amateurs, all are local and all are young.  It was an amazing night.  I've probably said it before but I love young people.  I love their energy and their idealism.  They can - and will - change the world.  They have such heart and so much more knowledge than we did when we set off to make our mark.

It took the organizer, Ella Batten, more than eight months to pull it all together.  She's a university student herself and you can learn more about her on the blog for imagine1day.   I know I could never have done anything remotely like this when I was a student.  Her support team was fantastic and she has a huge network in the arts community.  The performers ranged from a very energetic hip hop dancer (he can't have been more than 8 years old) to a Celtic fiddle ensemble to emerging singer/songwriters to classically trained dancers sharing their original and modern choreography.

It was One unique Night...I'm sorry I didn't have a camera with me!