A Visit From Mama Bear & Her Cubs

I woke this morning to a strange sound....an odd scraping sound. 

I wasn't sure if it was just a lingering dream....or perhaps the horses next door? They often make weird sounds. 

The Garden in Late June....and My Critters

Exciting things are happening in the garden these days!

Well....exciting for me, but maybe that's not saying much about me, huh?

Bear Update

I promised you an update on the Bear situation, so here it is. 

He was missing for a few days. I thought, perhaps, that he had moved on, since he didn't find any food around my house. 

Bear Update....and a Slice of Life

Our weather has been so bizarre. Not just ours, of course, but all over the globe. 

Global warming? I suppose. 

The Battle of The Bear

I've been missing you all and wishing for more time to spend here. 

But life gets in the way sometimes. It's been super busy around here. 

Spring has Sprung and I Need a Clone!

Doesn't it always seem there are not enough hours in the day? Either that, or I seriously need to figure out how to clone myself. 

Snow, at Last...and a Nightmare

Well, it's a little too late for a White Christmas but we finally got a couple of inches of snow last night - just enough to make it finally feel like Winter around here!

It's not the nice white fluffy stuff but rather a wet, heavy snow with an icy crust on top. 

The kind that's just killer to shovel. 

And not so much fun to drive in. 

Remind me again why I was so anxious for snow?

Oh yeah, because it's WINTER and I live in the mountains in upstate NY! By choice, I might add - I like my four seasons!

I woke early this morning to the awful sound of my alarm - beep beep beep beep beep - isn't that just the worst noise? I was grateful for the wake-up, however, as I was in the throes of a terrible nightmare. 

In my dream I was back in NYC in a skyscraper, up on the 46th floor, and we were in the midst of a tornado. The building was swaying in the storm and for some reason we thought we'd be safe up there, in this strong brick building that had stood for a hundred years.  

We were watching the storm rage outside the windows and while it was terrifying, we were all together and safe indoors. 

Suddenly the bricks started popping off the walls and I could see the wall imploding. I screamed and threw myself to the floor, over my little dog, Daisy, in an attempt to protect her from the bricks. And the wall collapsed inward, showering us in debris, right before the building started to collapse. 

I was scrambling around frantically, trying to locate all the members of my family and gather everyone to safety....and then I woke up. 

It was a terrifying dream and it has stayed with me all day. 

I know that awful dream came about for two reasons - the first being that we were watching news footage last night before dinner of the terrible tornadoes and severe weather in Texas and the Midwest. 

My heart goes out to all those families - I can't imagine the terror they felt as the tornadoes approached their neighborhood and they tried their best to outrun the storm. 

The other reason I believe had to do with the strong winds that were whipping the trees around outside my bedroom this morning. Nothing like the tornadoes in Texas but pretty intense none the less. There was sleet hitting the windows as well, making for quite the little winter storm raging away outside. 

The wind was blowing some of the lighter snow around so at times it looked like a blizzard out the kitchen window. The thermometer was reading about 20 degrees. 

First thing I do in the mornings is start up the Keurig and brew a cup of coffee. Then I go out to the garage and get the feeders out for the little birds. 

This morning that involved a long down coat I put on over my fuzzy bathrobe and my winter snow shoes with the heavy duty treads. My sweetie bought those shoes for me a couple of years back so I wouldn't fall while feeding the birds - he calls them "snow tires for my feet." What a honey he is, always looking out for me. He's right, they helped tremendously. 

I must say, I looked a bit like a homeless ragamuffin in that hodge-podge of an ensemble this morning, though! Glad my sweetie wasn't around to see that!

I wonder if it's safe to leave the feeders out now? Can I risk it? Do we think Mr Bear may be sleeping for the winter now? I'm a little worried since winter has only been around for a day or two now....he may be still up and about, looking for poor innocent bird feeders to rip to shreds. 

Meanwhile, I had my coffee in my leather chair next to the toasty warm fire this morning and I said a little prayer for all those folks who weren't so lucky. 

Look around you and count your blessings today. 

I will be doing the same. 

And counting you among my blessings, sweet readers. 

Stay safe and warm, wherever you are.