Of Bears, Babies and Just Plain June Beauty

And what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten …
                                
            ―James Russell Lowell

Emma from Berlin saw her first American bear in the wild.

Well, maybe it wasn't so wild. 

She spotted the young bear, which looks a lot like a chocolate labrador just off the road in the Meserve Preserve woods. 

When Emma and Willie and Debbie saw the bear, it was the second sighting.

Bill and I had the first. 

I was leading Lily down the lane back to the barn when I saw something chocolate moving over by the dog run.

The dogs were in the house, so there was no barking.

It disappeared behind our house, so I kept walking and watching.  Then, it moved north through the front lawn, across the driveway and into the north lawn.

Realizing it was not a dog, I wondered what the heck it was. 

"BEAR!" I suddenly heard from Bill who was standing in front of the shop.

We both watched as it moved on into Meserve's place. 

Of course, no camera!

I knew Willie and Debbie were on their way, so I texted about the bear sighting, which cued them to be on the lookout.  

Sure enough Emma saw it first. 

In early afternoon, after returning home from visiting with some family members over at the Thompson cabin, I came into the house to have a cup of coffee. 

Suddenly, Liam was barking at something in the front lawn, and he was barking with a distinct sound I'd never heard in his bark. 

I walked outside and saw an SUV creeping down the road on the other side of our row of cedar trees.  Then, it stopped. 

The driver, Joleen, announced that she had seen the bear on the road, first thinking it was a dog. 

"I knew your dogs weren't that color," she said.  She watched it re-enter our place and head south toward the Kauble's. 

Bill figures it's a 2-year-old out on its first adventure.  

Don't know if we'll see it again, but its presence caused plenty of excitement for the first day of June.

Plus, it was nice that Emma got to see a bear in the "sorta" wild. 

Our June first day was filled with visiting, bear talk, general chores around the place and then a drive up Trail Creek, east of Naples.

On the way, we stopped briefly at McArthur Reservoir where Bill said, "You won't be able to get too many pictures of people fishing off the dock because the lake is being drained this summer."  

As we turned on to Trail Creek Road, Bill, who's just getting back into hiking mode, suggested we go to the horse corrals and walk down the trail to the North Fork of Grouse Creek, which is running fast and pretty. 

In my backpack were two packages of peanut butter crackers.  Bill had brought along some almonds, peanuts and a couple of cans of beer. 

After our short hike, we sat at the picnic table, feasting mainly on nuts cuz those crackers had gone beyond their shelf life. 

"Leave the squirrels some treats," Bill said. 

When we arrived back home, we were astounded at the mud puddles and small lakes in the barnyard. 

Apparently, in our absence, the skies had opened and Mother Nature had left a huge dump of rain. 

Twas good for the garden, as I had just transplanted some cucumber starts, and, by golly, with all that moisture, this morning they look as if they didn't skip a beat.

When I came into the house, there was a message on the answering machine AND it wasn't someone telling me my GOOGLE business license had expired. 

It was my friend and neighbor Billie.  Her Arabian mare Bunny had foaled yesterday morning, and she was anxious for me to see the new baby. 

So, off I went.  We had a great time visiting and watching mom and baby.  Both, in 12 hours, looked as if "they've got this" mom and daughter thing. 

The dad is a gray Arabian stallion.  Billie was hoping for a gray.  

When I told her that my sister Barbara's gray gelding Tellie started out pretty much that same light chestnut color, Billie was excited about the possibilities.

Time will tell if the little filly turns gray. 

For now, she's cute and doing just fine. 

Yup, June started out with life murmuring and with life glistening, for sure. 

Happy Sunday AND Happy 22nd Birthday, Swiss Miss!