Bear!

           “Peg! Grab your camera and come here — quick!” Mike excitedly exclaims.

I didn’t waste any time. I dropped the brush and rushed back into the house. I’d been painting glass paint onto a concrete heart on the kitchen patio.

“What?” I asked as I grabbed my cameras and raced through the dining room and into the living room where Mike was standing by the front door.

“There’s a bear in the yard!”

I snapped a picture as the bear walked past the front patio.

“I’m going out,” I said, meaning I was going out onto the enclosed patio.

“He’ll hear you and leave,” Mike said.

He was already leaving so I took a chance.

When he got to the dog run, he turned and headed out.

This bear came up the driveway, circled the yard, and left.

“Maybe he smelled the dogs,” I guessed. Bears have a keen sense of smell, right?

This is only the second bear we’ve both seen. I saw one coming down from the upper barn a couple of summers ago, but he was gone before I could grab my camera and get back out there. Then we had one steal a bucket of sunflower seeds and I got him on the trail camera when he came back the second night.

And that was the excitement for the week!

Speaking of critters...

We watched Randy baling hay for a few minutes while we were out on a golf cart ride with the girls. There were at least three birds circling around. I wondered if the baler was kicking up bugs. 

The twins are getting big!

This guy rode the whole way home from Wysox on the windshield of the car! 

And this little girl!

I’d given Raini something to lick out for me. I don’t remember what anymore and it doesn’t matter, but Raini had what she wanted and walked away. Bondi went to see if there was anything left and Raini decided that maybe she wasn’t done.

“No!” I told Raini. “You let Bondi have some! Go lay down!” and pointed in the opposite direction from where Bondi was. I didn’t want her walking past Bondi and Bondi growling at her. Raini would put her in her place like now!

Raini wasn’t happy but she obeyed.

Pouting, she turned her back on me and laid down. 

I finished the cat mobile.

The first time I made it, I used wire to string the beads hanging under the cats. I didn’t want to use hemp string because I was afraid the strings would break after they’ve been outside for a while. Ask Miss Rosie about that. This time I used fishing line because I wanted it to have more movement than the wire afforded. I got one done, was working on the second one, when the first one let go.

Aye-yi-yi!

That would never do!

I decided the chain would be the best thing. It would be strong and it would move freely. The only problem was the holes in the beads weren’t big enough for the chain to go through.

I’ll drill them out, I thought and went out in the garage for Mike’s set of drill bits. Do you know that I went through four sizes before I found one big enough?

I restrung the beads and bells. I added Hope and Love hearts in between, as per the suggestion from my sister. That’s what I was working on when Mike called me about the bear.

I sure hope California Susan likes it. It’s colorful and fun. If the wind moves it, the bells have a gentle sound. If she doesn’t like them, then I hope she can find them a good home. This kind of stuff doesn’t appeal to everyone and my husband would be one of those. Although he likes my watercolors, the other crafty things I do don’t thrill him.

That night, after spending the day on the patio, I told Mike, “I think I’m getting sick. My lungs hurt.”

“It’s probably the smoke from the wildfires in Canada,” he said.

I hadn’t thought of that. We were under an air quality advisory. But I couldn’t see any smoke and it didn’t look hazy out. So I thought it was fine.

Things we can’t see can hurt us.

I was outside with the girls for the last pee before bed and heard a sound I’d not heard before. I stood there for the longest time trying to decide if what I was hearing was an animal in distress. No. No. I was pretty sure it wasn’t that. It sounded like a bird to me but what kind of birds are out at night?

Guys, it took me way too long to figure out the answer to that question!

Owls are out at night. But the only owl sound that I’ve ever heard and knew it was an owl would be the traditional, “Who!”

I Googled “owl sounds” and discovered that what I’d heard was the screech of a Barn Owl, one of the most common of all owls.

Oh gosh! The kitchen. I’ve had two fails in the kitchen this past week. Well, sorta fails, and sorta this past week. Don’t worry. It wasn’t bad enough that anything got tossed.

“What did you do now, Peg?” you wanna know.

I made coffee cake to take to the church. Four of us were getting together to sort through the donations for the Christmas boxes we pack every year. The cake was done but the top wasn’t very brown. I didn’t want to over bake it so I stuck it under the broiler. Four minutes might’ve been a little long.

“It doesn’t taste burnt,” sweet Annette said.

I had a piece, too, and she was right. It was just fine.

I sent some home for Annette’s husband, Pork. He loves my baking and is one of my biggest fans.

I packed some up for the Kipps. I’d filled the take out container and there was still a big hunk of cake left.

“I really didn’t want to take this home,” I told the girls, but no one else wanted to take any home — probably for the same reason I didn’t! I’d eat it!

We were getting in our cars to leave when a truck drove in. It was Ben, Joanie’s husband, and a grandson.

“Do you want some cake?” I asked.

“Sure. I’ll take some.”

 I thought about giving him the rest of the cake in the pan, but then he’d have to be bothered bringing my pan back. Annette must’ve been thinking along the same lines.

“You want a paper plate for that?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’ll work.”

Annette unlocked the church door and held it open for me.

“I really didn’t want to take this home,” I told her as I went past. The timing for Ben to drive in couldn’t’ve been more perfect! “Thank you, Lord.”

The other thing I did was the week before.

I was make tortillas for tacos.

“Peg, you can buy tortillas pretty cheap, you know?” you say.

I know right! But mine only have four ingredients. Flour, oil, salt, and water — if you call water an ingredient. They’re easy to make and yummy.

Mike wasn’t helping me this time. I thought if I kept the temperature low on my pan, I’d cook them slow enough that I could get the next one rolled out by the time it was done.

Do you know what happens when you cook tortillas on a low heat for too long?

They’re no longer soft shells!

I broke mine apart and made it into a taco salad.

Nothing went to waste but it wasn’t what I’d planned.

Lesson learned.

Oh gosh! As long as we’re on the subject of consumables...

Do you know that I drank a half cup of coffee before I realized I didn’t have any coffee in it!?

“It’s better for you that way,” my handsome neighbor, Lamar, said.

It just shows you how strong I make my coffee. It’s basically hot water with a little color. A half teaspoon of instant granules in two cups of water isn’t much coffee.

Well, loves, that’s all the stories this week.

“Aw, Peg!” you say — or maybe you don’t.

Never fear! I have pictures from our travels. We went grocery shopping in Tunkhannock and took Bondi to the vet for her rabies shot.

I took this from the Veterans Bridge in Wysox using my long lens.

Mixed in are some street shots. I thought I’d show you some of our little towns.

A roof on a shed growing its own ecosystem.

Misty morning (fog, not smoke from the wildfires).

Just a tree that caught my fancy.

Another antique piece in the landscaping at McDonald’s. 

We went to the hotel for birthday dinner. One night out for both our birthdays.

And I’ve got some pictures from our golf cart ride.

I’ve never noticed all these old beer bottles here before. The labels are gone and the lids are rusting.

They’re not the long necks. I wonder what kind of beer they held.

With that, let’s call this one done!