Return of the Night Visitor

Day 211

I decided to get a quick blog out since we have a lot of running around on our calendar today. Tonight we will be attending our grandson’s spring band concert which is always wonderful. For a high school band, they are very impressive and the music selection is always enjoyable.

I woke at 6:30 a.m. this morning. The first thing I noticed was the pole for the bird feeder lying across the ground. I knew without a doubt what that meant. Our night visitor had returned. Bears are common in this area, although I would have thought there might be adequate natural food supplies out there right now. We learned two years ago that you cannot leave bird feeders out all night here.

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To be on the safe side, we took our pocket air horn with us on our morning walk. There was nothing to be seen. When we returned from our walk, I retrieved the card from the trail camera. There he was. A black bear. Most likely a couple of years old. He pushed over the bird feeder pole, found nothing, then went on his way. Look at the size of those paws!

Miscellaneous Catch-Up

• I decided NOT to go on the writing retreat. I did some research and did not feel the facilitator was a good match for me. I felt the cost far outweighed the value.
• Yesterday marked my first official day on Medicare. This represents a huge saving for us — at least so far.
• For the last two or three weeks, every time I look at the clock the time is 11:11. My daughter told me that is a sign of angels being near. I like that. If you have something negative to say about that, keep it to yourself.
• A meaningful rose produced a bud this morning. It is gorgeous and I know will disappear as quickly as it came.
• The garden is doing well. We have a few blooms on the tomato plants, some tiny peppers on the pepper plants, small broccoli heads, and the radishes are coming up!
• I saw what I thought were wild strawberries and I was so excited! Unfortunately, they turned out to be mock strawberries which may be an invasive species.
• We saw our first black snake yesterday. Maybe he can take care of the moles that are tunneling through our yard.
• Tomorrow I am going to stay with my daughter-in-law and my grandchildren for 3 or 4 days while my son is out of town. I see cooking and playing on my agenda.

There has been a lot on the news that weighs me down, but I am trying hard to maintain my perspective and focus on making a positive difference in my corner of the world.

Happy Thursday! Feel free to share your good news in the comments!