The Bed Tree

Yesterday was a very busy day and then we went out for dinner, so I had little time for blogging.  Naturally, I did take pictures♥  One of the cutest things that happened yesterday, was the early appearance of the light-faced raccoon, and the turkeys, including a baby chick.  

It seems Mama turkey decided to teach the little one all about dust-baths, in the driveway. Seriously cute, to be sure...


The squirrels were also having a fun day, chasing one another all over the trees!  One of the squirrels has a very reddish tone to its fur, almost looks like a cross between a gray and a red squirrel.  I guess stranger things have happened!

So why is it, no matter how much time you spend watching, and waiting, you always manage to miss the $100,000 video clip??? Little bear, who I believe to be the cub of Spooky Mama, came out this morning and allowed me to take a bit of video.  He was very tolerant of me and the camera, but when the cat walked outside, he became spooked... guess the cub doesn't fall far from the tree!!

Speaking of which, after Spooky the Cub ran off, I heard the familiar sounds of claws on bark. Could he be tearing apart logs?? Considering that the battery on the video camera had run dry, I went back inside and brought out the Canon on it's tripod, and took a little hike.  I didn't have to go far before I realized where the cub had gone, and he wasn't tearing up logs.  He was sawing wood ...up in one of the big white pines.

I had long suspected the pines on this land were excellent "bed" trees, and it seems I was right.  This little guy was right at home, about 40' up and wrapped around the trunk.  It was obvious, he'd used this spot before.

I stayed outside taking photos of the sleepy cub in the tree, and the squirrels and deer, for about 3 hours before the little guy decided nap time was over and came back to the HRD. In the process, I took 450 photographs. (I've since whittled it down to just over 200 ... I'm gonna need a bigger hard drive!!).  I just can't help myself .... the critters are so photogenic and I would obviously much rather be outdoors than in ~  any excuse to NOT do housework is welcomed!!  It's really a shame I don't know how to make a living off the addiction to photography and bears ...

So, as the little cub enjoyed his sunflower seeds, I went in to download photos and clean the bathroom ... not necessarily in that order.  A short time later, I looked outside and a flash of color caught my eye, out in the woods.  "What was that?", I wondered...  Looking over towards the Hard Rock Diner, I noticed something missing ... the BALL!  The orange ball had been there just a while ago, and now was over in the woods! Hoping against hope, I went out to retrieve the trail camera SD card ... would it show me what had happened?    NOOOOOOOOOO.

All I know is, there was a different bear at the rock, and the ball was on the ground.  

Eight minutes after that trail cam clip ended, another began when a deer came by.  The ball was no longer there.  I retrieved it from the woods, with a large gash.... just another piece of plastic destined for the trash pile.  It revealed no secrets ...no insight into what had transpired.  Darn. Another opportunity for "America's Funniest Home Video's" fame, dashed. Oh well, I have another ball, and tomorrow IS another day♥

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"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. " -- Helen Keller

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