Category: 2012_Posts

Daily is difficult for me, and weekly can be too slow. “Whenever” seems to be the way I post.

Is 4,000 feet high enough?

~ JodiLea

Today’s news reported from The Pine Tree:

Lots of Critters Down Low….Mamma Bear and Cub Just Above San Andreas
Posted by: thepinetree on 08/27/2012 12:26 PM
Mountain Ranch, CA…We had a call this morning from a viewer that had a momma bear and her cub in his back yard on Michel Road between San Andreas and Mountain Ranch. There have been many, many mountain lion and now bear sightings at very low levels so be aware and don’t be surprised if you see mother nature up close and personal.

Yikes!  Just how close is “up close and personal?” Some of the local residents (like me) live 3 feet away from a forest. I suspect that would count as up close and personal. Especially when the forest is usually where they come from when they decide to go “down low”.

There goes my promise to start hiking every morning.  I’d rather not get my daily exercise running from mountain lions, bears or whatever Oh My! that comes down the mountain.

I keep feeling like I’m starring in one of those “B” movies about a small town getting into a panic about an impending doom. Like fire. Wild animals. What-not. I don’t dare ask “what happens next?”

I heard some weird howly, growly sounds last night. I whispered to hubby, “do you think that’s a bear?”

“It sounds like a Yeti to me,” he whispered back.

.Yeti Sighting
photo credit: JoshNV via photo pin cc

Bears Don’t Meditate In The Woods…

~ JodiLea

Firearms

I came across this poster today and it made me giggle. Not because it’s all that funny, but it was a reminder of my own encounter with a bear, armed only with my iPhone. The iPhone would have been more useful than a camera because I could dial 9-1-1. If I was at the top of the tree I could maybe get a bar or two. I am such an optimist! Or is it denial? I get those mixed up all the time.

The odds of any help getting there in time to rescue me are astronomical. Winning Lotto probably has better odds. Bears climb trees faster than grandmothers with acrophobia and a bad back.

Thankfully, my bear left the scene and I didn’t have to climb any trees that day. The next day, while enjoying my morning coffee, I see the bear again!  He is sitting by the same tree  No Way! I said out-loud to myself.   All Right – now this is just too much for even me to believe. Especially when he was back again the third day…

There must be some shadow/light combination that makes those trees look like a bear during breakfast. Sure enough, when I looked out the window an hour after breakfast, he wasn’t to be seen. I felt embarrassed, yet relieved, to discover my meditating bear was not real.  Now, if I really do see a bear, who will take me serious enough to check it out?  Not hubby or hubby’s friend.

Hubby has a gun safe in his shop. There are modern rifles, WWII era rifles, and various pistols locked in it. If I’m going to hike the trail into the forest by myself (cause hubby is too busy to go) I want to be armed with more than just my iPhone. More than imaginary Bear Repellent, even.

Well, dear readers, don’t y’all worry. Skittish grandmothers won’t be hiking through the Stanislaus National Forest with firearms. Dammit!

Hubby refuses to give me the combination.

10 Things I’ve Learned Since Moving To The Mountains

~ JodiLea ~ 1 Comment
  1. Food takes longer to cook at high elevations.
  2. Propane stoves cook hotter than gas stoves.
  3. And no, this does not even things out.
  4. You can’t cook pinto beans in a crock pot here – they will not soften, no matter how many days you keep them in there.
  5. Contrary to popular belief  (OK –mine), bears do not meditate in the woods.
  6. Just because you live surrounded by trees and forest land doesn’t mean you’ve seen the last of 100+ degree temperatures OR humidity.
  7. There are no street lights on mountain roads.
  8. There are trillions of night insects – and they are freakishly noisy.
  9. The Sierra Mountain dirt has ore in it, and it’s penetrating rust color does not wash out all the way.
  10. If you want the shelves stocked and your senior discount at the one and only market in town, you have to shop on Wednesdays.