I am two weeks into the master’s program and while it is busy, I find it to be manageable. I have not had much time for personal reflection, creative writing, or the reading and writing of blogs. That said I am doing well in class, keeping my family (and myself) fed, and doing rather well at being in the moment during the time I am with family.
Other highlights, and then I will wow you with a picture of a bear:
- Delilah got into a catfight and ended up with a large abscess on her face that needed to be drained. This happened after I got home from school last week right before our vet clinic closed so I had to drive her to the further away and much more expensive emergency clinic. She is currently on day three of wearing her cone of shame.
- Cody has spend a week away from home at his Grandma’s house. This is his first time being away from home and both he and my mom are loving it. We pick him up today. I think we miss him more than he misses us! A part of me realizes this is healthy but another part of me is sad that he is growing up and gaining more independence.
- Ok and now to the bear…
This large and rather scary visitor showed up in our backyard while we were eating breakfast last Thursday. The bear is about fifteen feet from our deck. He did not decide to breech our little fence but rather lumbered off into the brush when he saw me through the window after I snapped this picture.
Needless to say I have been having the “what do you do if you see a bear in the woods?” talk with Carter a lot lately and when Cody gets home he will get an earful of it as well.
I am not sure when you will hear from me again but hopefully it will not take a bear showing up in our yard to prompt me to write a post.
Shoes On The Wrong Feet 
keep those bears at bay and find a little time for yourself busy girl
If we see the bear again or see any signs of it attempting to get to our birdfeeder (it is attracted to the food, so we have been told) we will take the feeders down. Other than that I will have to rely on my anti-bear force field making abilities, which I don’t think are very reliable. 🙂
I am filling up your anti-bear force field right now — cannot go on half empty
Holy crap! What the hell do you do?
Glad you have been suriving the new and challenging program.
Apparently I need to write a post about what to do if you see a bear when you are out and about minding your own business. 🙂
Life is crazy busy, but I keep telling myself that it is only going to be this nutty for one year.
Yeah, I think that post is needed!
You ever get that email I sent you?
I did – I am just not good at getting back to people quickly these days. I need to run and pick up the boys from the babysitter so I will have to get back to you on it later… Sorry.
I will try and forgive you. I am that kind of guy.
Enjoy the 4th.
That is scary! Next time you can write about what to do when you see a bear!
It is scary (and a little cool too). I think I shall have to write about what to do when you see a bear. Stay tuned…
I still can’t believe you guys have bears that size come into your yards!!!! And people are scared to come to Australia because of our little spiders!! Haha:)
It is rather crazy that we for the most part coexist with large bears. I really don’t like spiders but I may just take a spider over a bear…
Well…at least there are no Lions or Tigers with him…I guess?
Way to go, Cody! Of course you miss him more than he misses you – he’s a Little Prince at Grandma’s house, while you got to listen to Carter ask when he was coming home a dozen times in an afternoon 😉
That is true – unless you count our cats as lions and tigers.
Cody had a great time and cried when it was time to leave Grandma’s house. Carter is doing the countdown until it is his turn to go.
Peta people make me giggle because no one wants to shoot the bear till it’s in your back yard… LOL Glad to see there were no lions or tigers but I suggest you get a Tin Man! LOL I can HONESTLY SAY I would have FREAKED OUT!!! I lived in Alaska and I am TERRIFIED OF BEAR!
I have to tell you that since the bear sighting I jump at every rustle of shrubbery or snap of a twig. It was crazy watching him simply melt into the brush – he was so large but came and went so quietly and quickly.
I just CAN”T HANDLE BEARS!!!! Not for me… Ticks to not for me either… or Leaches… or any parasite!!! Or mountain Lions! Can’t do those…
wow an actual bear!!! that is so cool!! (and a little scary…) So what DO you do if you see a bear? I feel like I have to google that now… Hope the masters is going well 🙂
Feel free to Google it. I think I will write a blog post about it, although Google may be more accurate that what I tell the boys to do. On the second thought, maybe I should Google it too. 🙂
Masters is crazy. I go from one panic attack to the next. Well, not quite that bad but it is more stressful than I thought it would be.
Wow!! A real bear. In your back garden!! The most exotic and wild animals I see here in London are cats and dogs! I still can’t believe that bear!
Well – some cats and dogs can be rather freaky and wild animal like… Not bear freaky, but still.
I still can’t believe it was a bear either. I keep looking at the picture to remind myself that it was real and that I did not make the whole thing up!
Holy Bear! There’s a bear in your back yard!! I worry about this. Not that we’ve seen any bears (knock on wood) but I recently found out the lady next door is feeding the racoons and foxes. Any time the dogs go out I’m worried to death because they will stand and bark at the fence.
I’d worry about the kids being outside, but you don’t leave them out there alone do you?
A year or two ago just across the street from our neighborhood, a bear attacked a lady out walking her dog. The dog was off leash and had ran into the woods to sniff. It then came running like crazy out of the woods and ran right past his owner with a bear right on his tail. The bear almost ran into the woman and, since it was startled, it attacked her. She survived, and her dog too, but after a long time of setting bear traps and patrols out looking for the bear it was never found.
I do worry about the boys being outside and I keep a close eye on them. I don’t think a bear would attack them unprovoked and I don’t think the boys could startle a bear as they are rather loud (they are boys after all). We do have a list of things to do if a bear visits posted on our living room wall and we talk about that (along with what do you do if a stranger asks you to get in their car to help them find their lost dog, and other such scary things). I don’t want them to live in fear but obviously I want to keep them safe. It is a fine line…
It is a fine line. So hard to educate them without terrifying them.
Yes..that is scary, but also… how fantastic! I saw a deer on my run the other day. I always feel like I’ve been gifted in some weird way when I cross paths with wild animals. But.. I hear you… safety first!
It was pretty fantastic. I am truly disappointed that the bear has not come back (or at least not while I have been watching out for it). I always get overly excited to see wildlife too – even if it is just a robin listening for worms out on the lawn or a rabbit eating dandelion stocks in the field near our home – although now that I say that neither a robin nor a rabbit could take me down with one swipe of their paw (or bird foot, as the case may be). So yes, safety first! 🙂
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.