Bear vs. Summit

This morning Summit asked to go out and take care of business.  About 10 minutes later I hear him angrily barking and look outside to see him take off in a full nothings-gunna-stop-me sprint- ears flat back.  He was headed out of sight towards his kennel, the evergreens blocking my view.  I whistled. 

A few seconds later he comes bolting, terrified toward the house.  Right behind- a smallish black bear.  I shouted at the bear and clapped my hands.  This got it's attention and it took off running into the woods behind the hot tub.  I heard a ruckus as it crashed through the brush to high-tail it out of here.  A few moments later, with Summit indoors. Vil went out to listen.  It was quiet.  Maybe both bear and shepherd learned a lesson? 

This marks bear #10.  Sunday brought another sighting of what I think is the same huge black bear on the neighbors property.  He is staying out of trouble and indulging on salmon berries. Again- he ran when he saw the car.  We'll keep him... he's a welcome neighbor!

Don't be discouraged when you see clouds.

They make for a breathtaking sunset.

In the quiet calm composure

With lack of man's exposure

Details flush with tiny creatures

Nature's finest teachers.

For they know not, time clocks ticking

Boasting, bragging or nit-picking

Tiny feet must work together

growing feather after feather

Finest hours aren't spent worried

Flying out the door and hurried.

But dining, watching, keeping

Working, harvesting and reaping.

Spend some time and simply watch it

There is so much to behold.

For a pollen-ladden flower

Truly is a pot of gold.

20 babies!

The bear whisperer strikes again.

The official count since the beginning of May is 7 bear sightings in Washington State (4 more in Canada) from yours truly.  I feel like I need to write this number down somewhere so I don't lose track. This includes one this past Sunday and one tonight.  Both of those bears were in our neighborhood and were BIG.  It might be the same bear- hard to say.  The salmon berries are ripe now, so they are eating well and likely enjoying feeling full.  I rode my bike in to work and home this morning and on the way in, came upon wet bear tracks- but no bear in sight.  I was singing loudly and had my bear spray canisters at a quick release on my waist.  My singing likely sent him to the hills.  On the way home, I came upon a wet, stinky pile and realized how close I was- but again no sighting. Tonight I drove home from Safeway and came up around the corner from the big hill and there was the big black ball- trucking it away from the car.  Poor guy- hot day, all that fur and a huff and puff in fear.  

We had the biologist and his wife over for dinner this weekend and his attitude is so peaceful about bears.  He works with them often and sees them frequently.  He says they are so fearful of people that people shouldn't worry.  He's frustrated at the newspapers and how they "splay" the bear sighting to make it appear as if they are vicious killing machines.  Instead, it's the humans that are a danger to the bears.  A tiny black bear yearling was on the run in a suburb of Seattle last month and the newspaper sighted a woman saying how worried she was for her kids safety.  Has anyone HEARD kids?  Show me a quiet kid playing outside, and I'll take you to Bigfoot's Castle.  

"To see one is an honor- just use your head," says the biologist.  That's how I feel too and it's an overwhelmingly amazing experience to see all of these wild bears.  Now the biologist and his wife have joined in the "bear whisperer", nickname.  Vil tells me I should have gone into something dealing with bear studies.  I laughed and said it's never too late :).

The one on Sunday was a really odd sighting.  I was driving down the road, not far from the house and I "felt"- yes "felt" like I was about to see a bear.  I looked to the left and thought I may have seen something, so I put the car in reverse.  There on a small trail, hidden.. unless looking... was a large black bear.  That experience almost caused me to think that maybe there really is something scientifically weird about my bear-wiring.  Here's a terrible photo from my horrible little camera phone, but at least I was able to snap something.  Usually I miss them as the phone is hard to use and takes forever.

Today is a great day.  Healthy bears mean healthy ecosystems and healthy ecosystems, mean healthy people.

Hiker Killed on Rattlsnake Ledge

Those of you who know me, know that I hike this trail at least 3 times a week.  I consider it my "treadmill" and love living so close.  I've seen all kinds of weather up there, and all kinds of people, doing all kinds of things. On sunny weekends this trail is a mob scene with "ants" marching up and down in a constant line. I have a secret route that I take now that avoids the main trail for this very reason (don't tell the Department of Natural Resources :).

Once I witnessed some teens "playing" on the rocky ledges, out of sight, below the observation area.  There is zero margin for error if you lose your footing when you are on the true edge- even worse when you are on the ledges below. Survival of the fittest is a real concept and just because it's a popular hiking trail, does not mean it's Disneyland safe.  Sometimes I think folks get confident with safety in numbers and the concepts that a popular trail must, surely, not lead to a dangerous view point?  Nature is kind to those who respect it.

A couple weeks ago Vil and I were fishing the lake and looking up at the ledge.  I said "In the chronicles of history, I wonder how many people have fallen to their deaths up there."  We talked about some of the idiotic behaviors we've both observed and in passing I said, "If there haven't been any deaths, it will only be a matter of time."  Turning on the news this morning, I couldn't help think of that conversation.

It's a super sad tragedy.  No one deserves to lose their short life that way, in such an amazing place. If there is any good to be found, hopefully word will travel about the dangers and folks will start being a bit more careful- esp. with kids and dogs.. at the top.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46555002.html

Memorial Day INSANITY.

The story is long, and warrants it's own page- heck it's own blog.  Technically, it's an old blog of mine I used for posting music, but I figured I'd use it.  Read it when you have time.  It's a long one!  http://tamismauimusic.blogspot.com/

My Motor-Man

I guess it's testosterone or some deep drive inside boys to go fast.  Even when they are little they dream of going fast and of modes of transportation that make them go fast.  My motor-man is just a grown up boy still dreaming of his own rocket.  

Yesterday he got to find out what it was like to fly.  He went to an organized 'track-day' down at a local raceway and rode his Ducati like the wind.  I was impressed with the safety standards they put in place, but the risk is still there (WARNING: parental types.. don't read on) as 4 people crashed yesterday.  Surprisingly no-one got injured.  The gear has protective padding throughout and they have air fences around so you don't usually hit anything hard but still... you are sliding at top speeds.  Additionally, it's so much safer than the roads- no other cars, no gravel, no oil, etc.  

They have 3 classes- Advanced, Intermediate, and Beginner.  Vil was in the beginners as it was his first track day.  The Advanced riders get up to speeds of 170-180 mph.  I'm not sure what the intermediate or beginners speeds are, but I can tell you this- they are FAST.  I couldn't believe the beginners would fly like that.  I just stood there watching with my mouth hanging open- in awe.  They each had to pick a number- he chose 714 (see if you can guess why) :).  They had a rest between each heat, so we set up a canopy and hung out until it was his time to go again.

We've had some conversations lately about our dreams and our "bucket lists" (you know.. what we would like to do before we kick-the-bucket).  This was one of his and he has been wanting to do this since he bought that bike several years ago.  Since we aren't getting any younger, we whole-heartedly agreed to support each others dreams.

Trust me, I had a lump in my stomach each time he went out, but I was happy he was having so much fun.  Also, I know he is safe and smart and would error on the side of caution.  My job was to standby, take pictures and cheer him on.  Despite my furrowed-worried brow, I have to say, it was exhilarating to watch.  The day was incident free, warm and perfect for the sport.  

Those of you reading this with little boys- beware... it's hardwired :).