Monday Missive

Things have been busy, but good for the most part. Little life annoyances that we can complain about but complaining doesn’t change a thing!

• I got official sign-off from physical therapy. I have 100% range of motion back so I am pleased. That does not mean I do not still have aches and pains, but I am thankful to be much improved.
• After recovering from a very bad upper respiratory infection, I am finally back to the gym. I am continuing with the workouts for my knee, and also working with the weight machines and a few free weights. I am enjoying it, but I must say, I am a bit sore in places I haven’t felt for a while.
• Last week our A/C went out. The compressor would not come on. Repair people came out the following day. A high pressure switch was thrown. The switch was reset and the coils cleaned. Later that afternoon, it stopped again. This time the capacitor. Last night the compressor stopped working again. We are again waiting on the repair person.
• Our internet has been going in and out, too. It’s never down too long, but it is annoying.
• Our juvenile bear friend was back a few days ago so we have not been putting the bird feeders out. We miss having the birds so maybe we can chance it today.
• Friday our grandson came out with his parents to visit and also collect the couch we promised him two years ago. He is moving into his first apartment. It was a great visit and he is so excited to be moving into his first place. Now we get to go shop for a new couch!
• Today I am going to the salon to get a much needed and long overdue haircut. I am more excited than I think is normal for a simple haircut.
• Tomorrow I am taking my car in to the dealership for some diagnostics that can only be done at the dealership. It is a 2007 with about 209,000 miles on it, so I am hoping it does not indicate a major problem. I really do not want to think about buying a new car. (Can you even find new cars now?) Wish me luck!

That’s about it for now. Wishing you all a good week.

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One Liner Wednesday – Hey, Bear!

Black bears can survive–and even thrive–on the fringes of civilization, or sometimes right in the midst of it.

Linda Masterson

We woke to the bird feeder poles lying down on the ground. A check on the field camera showed us why.

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One liner Wednesday is brought to us each week by the lovely Linda Hill. Please visit Linda’s blog to read the rules, read other one liners, and possibly join in the fun!

We Are Not Alone Here in the Woods

Now that most of the leaves are off the trees, it is much easier to hear the animals. Turkeys are not unusual to hear, but last night, the sound that permeated the darkness were the coyotes. They were loud and hearing them in the night like that tends to give me the chills. Especially knowing they are close by.

We now have two trail cams. During the day we generally see squirrels, the neighbor’s cat and the occasional bunny. But the dusk and nighttime are much different. These images were taken on the trail cam that sits at the bottom of the hill. The pictures remind us we are not alone here in the mountains.

This little guy cleans up around the bird feeder every night so I think we will keep him.

We have not seen signs of any bears lately and that suits me fine. No bobcats lately either. But never fear, they are out there making their way like everyone else.

The Night Visitors

Day Four

I remember my father telling a story about encountering a black bear while he was alone doing a little fly fishing. I rarely saw my father frightened, but I remember so well how scared he was. He often said he was afraid he was going to have a heart attack that day!

Such is life in the mountains. You learn to live with the creatures that share your space. We have lived here over two years and we are learning to live with nature’s residents. Last year we put out a small container garden. The next morning all the plants had been dug up, but oddly they were fine. Some creature (likely a raccoon) decided to dig in the fresh loose dirt for grubs. Most of the ground here is red clay so finding loosely packed soil must have been a treat. The plants were simply an unintended casualty.

Wild turkeys are a common sight. In the summer, squirrels and chipmunks, field mice and rabbits are seen almost daily. I love capturing them on my camera whenever I can.

We have had several visits from black bears. It is a little unnerving the first time you see one just five feet outside your living room window. We had several bird feeders crushed and several shepherds crooks bent beyond recognition. Needless to say now the bird feeders come in before dusk although when bears are looking for food, they are not necessarily nocturnal. (Party stores carry small air horns perfect for startling an unwelcome visitor.)

We saw bobcats a couple of times, but could never quite capture them on a camera before they were long gone. Majestic creatures in their own right, bobcats are powerful and while they look like an overgrown cat, they are a force to be reckoned with.

After finding evidence of night visitors, we decided to buy a trail camera just to see who was coming by. This morning, my husband brought the SD card in to see what creatures had been around these last few weeks.

We clicked through the images and saw the rabbit, two raccoons and an opossum. We love opossums because they love to eat ticks! Then we both said – Oh no. Yes, there were several shots of a bear walking down the brick walkway behind our house. You need to understand this walkway actually touches our house, so this means the bear was only about 4 feet from our back wall. A few more clicks and the bear was now standing. Whoah! They look so much larger when they stand on their hind legs!

The images were timestamped around 4:00 am so the bears could still smell the evidence of the bird food. Looking at where his head was in relation to the pole, he was about 5-6′ tall when standing on his hind legs.

Of course, this is life in and around the mountains. It’s all about having respect for your surroundings and for the creatures that lived here long before we did. We love seeing them – at a distance – but we never approach them or try to lure them with food.

I love this calm integration with my homeland. I love seeing the wildlife, the birds and the plants and trees that grow effortlessly around us. It is truly home to all of us.

“We don’t own the planet Earth, we belong to it. And we must share it with our wildlife.” 
Steve Irwin