Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Bears, and Boxes, and Boys! Oh My!

Y'all there was a ginormous bear in my yard last night. Oh my word you cannot believe how positively humongous he was. I need to run get the thesaurus because seriously, there are not enough great big adjectives to do it justice. Where is the photo you might ask? Well you know what? It's dark up here in the NJ countryside. And bears are also dark. Pretty sure God came up with that whole camouflage thing for their protection except I'm kind of wondering what in the world could take out a bear this size. A cannon maybe? Did I tell you he was colossal? Behemoth in fact. (Thank you Mr. Roget).

My hubs had a business dinner last night...a lovely Italian meal whilst I was home eating a scrumptious supper of microwave popcorn but, I digress...anyway, he got home a little before 10 and when he came in the house he asked what had happened to the bird feeder. I said I had no idea, that it was fine this afternoon. He went to the kitchen door and as he prepared to step outside he whisper yelled (effective in this case) to GET THE CAMERA! THERE'S A BEAR!!! I was on it for once and came up to the door and looked out into the pitch blackness and saw... nothing. At first. Once my eyes focused I took a step back inside. He was gargantuan. Hubs went all the way out to the deck railing but it occurred to me how fast a bear can move when he wants to and I hung back. I mean he was going after the finch food and even the squirrels, possum, and chipmunks don't bother with that. He must have been really really hungry.

Note to self-do not let the dog out in the pitch black night without a reconnaissance mission first.

I took two pictures before he lumbered on up into the woods and I'd post them for you but essentially they are two fuzzy black squares. My photography skills amaze even me.


I did snap a picture this morning of the bird feeder. Goodbye my beautiful yellow finches...it's come down to you or us and I'm gonna choose us.



On to an exciting note of another kind...boxes. I recently won a giveaway and my prize arrived in the post yesterday. In the mail. Sorry. Some habits die hard. Anyway, I won a drawing over at Chaos Theory. Courtney is an American grad student in Budapest so go say hi. Budapest is an amazing city and Courtney posts some beautiful pictures in between her studies. In fact part of the prize was a lovely photograph of their Parliament building...


and a gorgeous scarf...I can't wait to wear it because the colors are mine. Thanks again Courtney!

And finally...boys. I suppose I should say men but that didn't complete the alliteration so boys it is. Yesterday I was catching up on some blog reading after being out of town for a few days and it dawned on me that three of my very favorite blogs are written by men boys. So here's a little link love on this beautiful Tuesday morning...and no, these are not compensated endorsements, just some of my own personal faves...

Billy Coffey-maybe my favorite blog...it's like getting a short story every single morning. He is a gifted writer and has a book coming out later this year.

Pete Wilson-a preacher in Nashville who is sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful and always completely transparent. Great discussions occur in the comments here too.

Jon Acuff-hilarious. Seriously funny. Except on Wednesdays when he is seriously serious. His website, Stuff Christians Like, is also the name of his recently published book available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and local Christian bookstores. I'm a huge fan.

So there you have it. Oh, and I'm playing Bunco today which would also have worked in my post title but eh, not as exciting as bears, boxes and boys now is it?

17 comments:

  1. I was on the edge of my seat reading about this! I can't even imagine! I saw a bear once when we were vacationing in Colorado. I actually grabbed the video camera and put it on night vision and got him (a little one) as he went sliding down the hill. I was on the look-out the whole time after that. But, right in your own yard!! Yikes!!!

    Congratulations on winning the give-away. What a beautiful scarf and picture. So special!

    I'll have to check out these boys' blogs. Sounds very interesting.

    My parents are in NYC this week. I wish I could have gone along too.
    We could have met for lunch or dinner. : / Melinda and I keep talking about it. Someday.....

    Have a great day Joyce!

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  2. aw yay! i'm so glad you like the scarf and the picture. i think the colors of the scarf will be perfect for spring/summer :) so enjoy!!! :)

    and, oh. my. word. a bear? that's just scary! be careful! :)

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  3. Bears are scary, dude.

    I would have peed my pants.

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  4. Now that was an adventure worth telling. I love watching the bears, but you are right to take the feeder down, b/c where there is food...he will stay!
    Have fun at Bunco. Hope you win.
    Blessings,
    andrea

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  5. They have bears in New Jersey? I may need adjust my preconceptions.

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  6. A bear would scare me to death. Glad we don't have them here. Glad everyone is ok.

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  7. And I was worried about the coyotes getting my 7 lb. pup!
    Bears are not good neighbors.

    Just sayin'

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  8. Wow a bear... they have them in Arkansas too, but I never encountered one. But my kids have. Scary stuff. Looks like he may have even messed up the shepherds hook that held your feeder. They can be destructive.
    How exciting about your winnings. WTG! And I can't wait to check out those blogs... well I may have to wait till I get back from AR.
    Watch for the bears!

    until next time... nel

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  9. You get bears??! Who would have thought. That was some story. Really pretty scary if you think about it. Be careful at night!
    Love the scarf you won. Those are my colors too!

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  10. I guess after the rough winter ya'll had, the bear would be hungry, wouldn't it? Glad you took what's left of the feeder down. You definitely don't want a repeat visit.

    Thanks for the links--I'm off to check them out!

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  11. Yep, I'd say don't let the dog out unattended!

    We are planning a move to Colorado this summer and the area we like is heavily wooded, which means animals, which means bears! We may have to rethink that one!

    Have fun at Bunco!

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  12. Oh, I like this! I too have seen a bear. We went camping up in Boundary Waters in MN,and a bear visited our campsite. Yes, I was petrified.

    And those are some of my favorite blogs also! Billy Coffey has been an inspiration to me. This one's for the guys!

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  13. Your wildlife sounds much more interesting than my squirrels, possums, and raccoons. Don't suppose you could get rid of him with an air rifle (glorified BB gun that LBeau uses on the squirrels).

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  14. Incredible! I'm surprised your hubs didn't run him down and get a picture of him, make friends, whatever! :)
    The scarf is beautiful...I'm going to check out the blogs you mentioned!

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  15. It would be odd for us to see a bear but we have lots of other creatures so Skye is always on a leash after dark. You found some great words to discribe that mammoth bear!

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  16. Aww, thanks for the mention, Joyce. And yeah, you gotta watch those bird feeders this time of year. Haven't seen any bear around here, but it's just a matter of time. I'm gonna just shake my head and call you an unRedneck because you didn't publish those fuzzy pictures anyway.

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  17. oh. my. word. a bear? seriously? your hubs is quite the adventurous one, isn't he? yes, i would avoid a repeat visit at all costs too. ;) congratulations on the win! yay! i'll have to check out those links...

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