Saturday Slight

Saturday morning has broken here at the Lovestead. Horses are out to pasture.  Liam is snoozing on the bed next to me.  

I've been for my morning walk and have seen another blob of bear scat. 

It's been bear-scat week around this neck of the Selle Valley woods.  

A few weeks ago, Christa Finney posted on Facebook that bear scat had been observed beneath her father-in-law Gary's apple tree. That tree is just spitting distance up the road from the Lovestead.

After seeing Christa's announcement, I told Elisabeth, who was watching our place at the time, to keep an eye out. 

Apparently, Elisabeth had no bear encounters during our absence, so I never thought much about the possibilities until earlier this week when one morning I spotted two suspicious and rather fresh piles on the side of the road both north and south of our mailbox. 

I mentioned the piles to Bill and suggested they were either bear scat or someone's dog had the runs while running past our place. 

A couple of mornings later, while leading Lily down the lane to pasture, another fresh pile had turned up overnight ON OUR LANE.  

Again, I mentioned the deposit to Bill.  He soon walked out to the lane and inspected for himself, agreeing that it was not coyote scat and more than likely came from a bear.

This morning, just as I had come back from the south, I discovered another pile (fresh again) just beyond our driveway on our side of the road. 

Still no bear sightings but definitely cause for a little concern.  We'll just hope that dogs and bears keep on a different schedule for their wanderings. 

So far, I have found nothing but deer droppings under our apple tree.  Bill sez bears will get a little more destructive than deer.  When they want those apples, they just break off a limb. 

Anyway, we'll be monitoring scat from now on and hoping that we and the dogs don't see the perpetrator----up too close and personal, anyway. 

My plums could be a perfect temptation for any hungry bear.  So far so good.  They're just taking time in their ripening process, but they sure are a pretty sight. 

Even though the lawn is fading in color, some spots around the place are brightening up with early fall beauty.  Wish my tomatoes would join the party.  Still no signs of red. 

As the days cool off a bit, we've started another project in the barn.  It's taken time, but with Bill's help for the starter part, Team Love has managed to dig three post holes inside the barn.

We thought we might have to use a tractor and augur but discovered that the rock layer goes down about five or six inches, and then digging gets much easier. 

Six by six beams will go into those holes.  Then, we'll work on leveling the surface with gravel.  Rubber stall mats will then cover that area.  

We'll use boards given to us by the railroad during the "ol' train wreck of '97" for two ends of the evolving box stall and then go shopping for stall doors and panels for the front. 

Eventually, we'll have a new box stall inside the barn with a little more room early next spring for Lily and her baby.  

This project will take a while, but we're hoping to have the stall completed in the next few weeks.  

When that's finished, we finally can breathe easily and with satisfaction that the garden fence has kept out the deer, the newly installed woven wire along the Meserve fenceline will keep Liam from herding Bert Wood's cows, the dog shelter will not cave in with the first snow and that Lily will have plenty of safe space for foaling time.  

Who sez living on a farm is boring.  Hardly!

As I punctuated that sentence, Bill just announced from downstairs that he's going to town to get some materials, so we'll probably spend part of the day sticking beams in holes.  

After that, a tour of the new digs for my friend and former student Fred Colby's Laughing Dog Brewery, where they're having open house today.  Pictures to come, along with the next bear scat report.

Happy Saturday.