Sunday, August 30, 2009

The True Story of the Three Bears--Mountain Springs Version




Baby Bear Up A Tree

"Once upon a time there were three bears..."
       Our neighbor, Mike, called other day with a somewhat frantic tone in his voice. He needed help! A mother bear and her two cubs had wandered into his backyard, and his three dogs were, as they say, 'loaded for bear!'. He was trying to catch the dogs before Mama Bear got real aggravated at them and decided to protect her cubs. It is never safe to get between a mother and her babies (this is true for all mothers, human or other) we know.
       We jumped on our four-wheelers--somehow remembering to grab the cameras--and zipped down the hill to the scene of all the commotion. When we arrived, Mike had two dogs shut up in the basement. The other was dragging him around on a leash--straining with all her might to go after the critters! (This was Mama Dog from another story.) Mama Bear and one of her cubs were the edge of the woods about 20 yards away. We could see them ambling back and forth between the trees. The 'left-behind' cub was up a tree! There was a lot of squalling from the cub in the tree, and a lot of bellowing from mama in the woods. Now and then, we could hear a little 'snort' from the other cub who was probably a little bewildered with all the action going on around him! I'm sure both were encouraging the 'treed' cub to get on down from there! He would climb down a few feet, look at us and the dog on the leash, squall, and climb back up.
       We stayed around just long enough for a few pictures--not too close! At all times keeping an eye on Mama Bear,who was pacing at the edge of the woods all the while making an ominous snapping sound with her jaws. Obviously the bear family was not in a mood to pose for a family portrait! ( We had quickly devised a plan to run for the greenhouse a few feet away in case of trouble!) When we retreated to the house, dragging Mama Dog with us, the little cub quickly saw his opportunity and scurried down the tree to join his family. The hold episode lasted about 10 minutes at the most.
       Our cabin guests had reported that a noise from the porch had awaken them the night before, and they had seen evidence the next morning that probably bears had been snooping around. This confirmed their story! We haven't seen signs of the three bears since. We keep all animal feed and trash/garbage in sheds so they probably wrote Mountain Springs off as not worth the bother! Then, they moved on to 'greener' pastures. The picture Jack got is a sweet memory of the "Three Bears at Mountain Springs'.
       There have been quite a few 'bear sightings' in the area this spring and summer. Mostly they are just going about the business of finding a meal of bugs, berries, or whatever "smells" (garbage), and they aren't really interested in humans or any other animals for that matter, unless they seem to have the food. Mother bears can be very defensive if they think their cubs are in danger.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Going Green

Going "green" on laundry day


Growing up, one of my summer chores was hanging out the laundry. We had a electric dryer, but in the 60's, using a clothesline was not a matter of 'saving the planet' but of saving money. Most of the time, when Mother needed the laundry on the line, I was busy checking out the latest hairdos in "Seventeen", or listening to Ricky Nelson sing his newest hit "Garden Party"--still a favorite of mine! What would we have done with the Internet and cell phones! (I can't imagine the time I would have spent on Facebook, or texting, or 'twittering') Even so, it was never convenient for me to stop and hang the laundry on the line. Mother usually had to "remind" me several times. Didn't occur to me that the laundry needed to get the heat of the sun for several hours in order to dry before evening!

Through the years, I have always had a clothesline. Sometimes I would get nostalgic about the wonderful fresh smell of sun-dried sheets and go through a period of hanging out my laundry. It usually didn't last long since there were other things more important. How easy it is to load clothes from the washer to the dryer! Only seconds really! Anyway, there was always the chance the birds would use the clothesline for a perch. Ever go out to take the laundry off the line and find a purple "stain" on a freshly dried pillowcase? Saving money and the planet became secondary in my busy world.

When we moved to the mountain and lived in the little shed in the back (check out "About Us" at http://www.mountainspringscabins.com/ ). Jack was considerate enough to hook up the washer and dryer in the little mini barn close by. That worked for a while until the dryer quit! No use fixing it since this was only temporary anyway. We would be getting a brand new one for the house shortly. A temporary clothesline was stretched across the back from tree to tree. It worked! I had to learn how to hang and secure sheets in the windiest of conditions, and there were times when the sheets flew right off the line not matter what!

After we moved into the new house and started our cabin business, the clothesline was abandoned. Keeping laundry from two cabins going was a job that required help--in the form of an electric clothes dryer!
But I still missed the clothesline!

Last year, my neighbor, Darlene, got her new clothesline, which she uses a lot. Her husband, Mike, is a very handy man with a welding torch, and was nice enough to make me two T-posts just like hers. Jack set them in the ground and stretched the wires, and I painted them dark green.

Now hanging out the laundry is no longer a chore I put off. Just look at the scenery I get to gaze upon while I work! It is a brief respite in a busy day when I can let my mind wander and be amazed at God's beauty around us. And, I feel good that I am doing a little something to save both money and the planet!


If you visit us on a nice sunny day, you may see my sheets flapping in the breeze, soaking up the beautiful sunshine and fresh mountain air. If you stay at Eagle's Rest Cabin, you may even get to sleep on some of those sheets!


Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,
Your faithfulness to the skies.
Psalm 36:5