Such a Great Day

Today started with a surprise:  Diva and I were driving a few blocks from my house and found a young couple enjoying the beautiful fall weather: 

 

We spent about half an hour watching and snapping pictures.  I'm very proud that Diva, at eight years old, has learned to appreciate and respect wildlife.  I will never forget witnessing a dumbass tourist in the Yukon Territory hop out of his car, walk right up to a wild black bear, snap a photo, then turn his back and return to his car.  I was taking video of the bears (zoomed in from a reasonable distance and the safety of our car) and thought sure I would be handing my vacation video over to the authorities after the mauling.  Diva knows that the wildlife is here, in the city, because of all the building going on in the hills.  She knows that wild animals, no matter how calm they appear, can turn on you in an instant, and that they deserve to be left alone.  We sat quietly in the car until they looked our way, then took the pictures.  We never even considered trailing them, feeding them, leaving the car, or trying to get their attention.   Our patience was well rewarded:

 

In case you're wondering, that's an office building in the background, and we were in a parking lot.   The camera I used for these photos is new as of yesterday, and I'm still learning how to use it. So far, I'm impressed with how easy it is to maneuver.  Some of the shots could be more clear, but I was using the zoom feature for the first time, so I expect I'll get better with time.  I'm just grateful to have had a camera with me. 

After our wild encounter, we hit the mall.  We found everything we need to transform the bathroom (on sale, plus the clerk gave us coupons - major score!) had lunch, picked up some school clothes for Diva from Macy's clearance rack, and grabbed Halloween candy for tomorrow, along with a jar of Walker's favorite salt & pepper cashews.  When we got home we carved Diva's jack o' lantern and settled in front of the TV.  Right now, Diva is sacked out in her bedroom, Walker is getting ready for work, and I'm feeling all relaxed and happy.  Life is good.

Wild Encounters

Not even 5 am and it's already been a busy morning! I was sitting at my desk logging some hours on my work at home job when I heard the most God-awful noise coming from the patio. Of course I had to check it out, and I was horrified to see a neighbor's cat holding a tiny baby bunny in his mouth. I yelled at the cat to "Put him down!" and for some reason, he did. The little bunny was only about four inches long and he hunkered down in the grass while I slipped onto the patio and chased the cat away. I slowly approached the bunny but didn't touch him. I was hoping he wasn't seriously hurt. He didn't appear to be bleeding or anything, and after a couple minutes he hopped off, hopefully back to the safety of his momma and his nest.

When I went back into the house my own kitty was acting agitated, which at first I thought was because of all the noise on the patio, but then I watched her pacing by the front door and went to that side of the house to take a look. Out on the lawn in the very first light of the day was a gorgeous doe. She saw me watching her and began to approach the house. I slowly backed away from the door and grabbed my camera, but just that quick she disappeared. One of these day's I'll learn to take the dang camera with me.

ETA: Not five minutes after I published this post the dang cat was back on my patio. I think the bunny is hiding under the steps, cause the cat was going nuts trying to get at something under there. I chased him away again, and the dopey thing ran straight across the street into a yard with four dogs. The racket was crazy. I have a feeling I'll be hearing from some neighbors today.

Bear in the City

Looking back on the last post, I'm struck by the irony of the timing. This weekend, a black bear that has been living in the woods on the edge of town for several years without incident decided to take a walk down the bluff, across the highway, and into the city limits. He climbed a tree in a local park and was promptly shot dead by DNR officials who stated they had no choice. They say the nearest agency with a tranquilizer gun is ninety miles away, and they couldn't take the risk that the bear, who was drawing a crowd, would stay in the tree. If he tried to get out of the tree, they reasoned, he would be loose in a residential neighborhood.
Well, I'm not a bear expert but I do believe I'd have called for the tranquilizer, ordered the area cleared of onlookers, and waited it out. IF the bear came down, well, then you do what you need to do. But to senselessly kill him on the chance that he "might" become a threat.....well, those people are right up there with the folks at Anthem who thought a hysterectomy was the best course of treatment for a benign fibroid.
I was disappointed and upset to see the footage of this story on the local news, complete with video of the bear getting shot and falling from the tree. Was it necessary to show that? It must be ratings time.
I have to wonder, too, why the DNR didn't have a dart gun when they knew this bear was living so close to the city. I mean, his woods borders a golf course. Golfers were warned to watch for him, and hikers were taught to be aware of his presence. It would seem logical that someday there would be a need to relocate him. It's been dry here this year. I think it's possible that the bear came down in search of food. It seems irresponsible to say there was no choice but to shoot him. I think it was more a matter of poor management. I just hope we learn from it.