Black Bear

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Black bears can be seen in the Great Smoky Mountains.  If you're in the park, and there is a big traffic jam, you can bet that it's because of a "Bear Jam".  I can remember the excitement of getting caught in a Bear Jam when I was little.

If you visit the park and see a bear, please stay in your car.  It really ticks me off when people pull off of the side of the road and get out of their car to get a closer look.  People are just stupid sometimes.

If you're on the trail, follow the rules.  The National Park Service instructs that "willfully approaching within 50 yards (150 feet), or any distance that disturbs or displaces a bear is illegal in the park."

The NPS provides these suggestions if you should happen to see a bear:
1)  slowly back away.  Don't turn, and don't run.
2)  If the bear follows you, change your direction.  If he continues to follow, stand your ground and make noise.  Throw non-food items at him and make yourself seem larger.
3)  If you have food items, get rid of them!

Most importantly, please remember that these are not virtual bears.  You're in their home, and they will protect it.  There have been recent stories of bears who have had to be euthanized because of contact with a human, when the human has been the one to initiate the contact. 

The Appalachian Bear Rescue is located just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains.  They rehabilitate bears and return them to the wild.  We have had representatives come to one of my schools.  Every fall, we have a container in the foyer of the school for nuts and apples that are taken to the ABR.  The kids have a good time collecting acorns around the school and their home for the bears.

Go to the Great Smoky Mountains and have fun looking for the bears, but keep your distance!

Bear?

As I was walking this morning, it was still kind of dark since the sky is overcast.  The girls & I are walking along beside a wooded area, when I hear something.  It's a sound I can't place.  It could have been a branch falling, or.... It's not unheard of that a stray bear could have found it's way down to the small town.  I quickened my step, forcing the girls to stay on the walkway and to not stop and sniff anything, or else they may end up a bear's breakfast.  I made sure my cellphone pad was unlocked, so that if I needed to call 911 I could do so in a hurry.    I kept looking over my shoulder until I got to the lower side of the park (where the playgrounds and open spaces are). 
When OS & MS were in high school, I drove by the elementary school to find quite a few emergency vehicles and the wooded area next to the creek had been roped off.  The first thing that came to my mind was:  "Where were the boys last night?"  Luckily they were at home, so I was a bit relieved.  Then, I thought maybe they found a body down there.  Later, I found out that there had been a bear spotted.  This happens every now and then.  Just a month ago, one had been spotted in Knox County...far away from its usual home. 
Suffice it to say, I have a crazy imagination sometimes.  The sound I heard was probably just a branch falling.  We've had quite a bit of rain and high winds the past few days, so it would make sense that it was a branch.  Then again, it could've been some homeless person waking up!  (For the record...I've never seen a homeless person in the Small Town, much less in the park!)

In the News

I did this a while ago, and thought it was time for another installment of things that had happened in my neck of the woods that were newsworthy.  Or somebody thought they were, anyway!


1.  A couple of weeks ago, in a small town about an hour, hour & a half away from here, 6 women held a man captive in a thrift store (until the police could arrive).  Why?  He had been watching women try on clothes through a peep hole!  Way to go, women!


2.  Remember the bear story:  a bear was euthanized because he bit a tourist who had gotten too close to him.  The tourist was trying to get a picture of the bear, and the bear ended up biting him on the foot.  Well, Mr. Tourist was back in the news last week: he was being cited for "disturbing a wild animal".  What did the tourist have to say about the bear dying?  He said it was unfortunate, but apparently it wasn't his fault.  You see, he blamed  people that  may or may not have fed the bear in the past for "taming" the bear.  He apparently wants to be some kind of hero, because he said he was glad  it was him  instead of a kid.  The bite didn't even draw blood, but I guess a bite is a bite.  Here's the kicker:  The tourist had just received his degree...in Environmental Studies  Hmmmm...


3.  In another town about an hour away from here, a man robbed a bank, then proceeded to crash into 3 police cruisers, tossing the evidence out in the road as he crashed.  He flipped his truck a few times after  he decided to cross the median to go the wrong way down the interstate.  His name?  He told them it was "John Doe". No police officers were injured, but "John" will be going to jail...after he gets out of the hospital!


4.  In the big city close by, the city council  put off voting on city residents having chickens used for laying eggs.  There will be a limit to how many they can have (6), and the residents have  to keep the coops clean and smell-free.  Okay, let me say this:  How in the world do you keep a chicken coop from  smelling?  The council did approve goats in a couple of parks.  They will be used for eating the kudzu that apparently are taking over the parks.


5.  I don't get the newspaper delivered to the house;  I check online for the news.  The picture that was on the online front page edition of the newspaper showed 2 local girls in front of a movie poster.  Guess what the movie was?  (I'm sure most of you guessed correctly!)  Eclipse.  One middle schooler (who was wearing a shirt with "Wolf Girl" on it) was quoted as saying, " He's awesome, because he's a real man — he don't sparkle".  Really, newspaper?  Could you have not used quotes and paraphrased what the girl said...with correct grammar?

So, has there been anything outside of the ordinary in your newspaper lately?

Mountain time!

Usually on Thursdays I participate in Thank You Very Much with Kmama at The Daily Dribbles, but this Thursday I've got nothing for you in that department!  Guess that's a good thing, huh?

Tuesday night my in-laws came in, bringing with them my husband's uncle and lady friend (LF)  from Copenhagen.  We spent a week with them last year in Denmark and had the time of our lives!  They were such good tour guides, and we hit the town running when we got there.  Husband's family had lost contact with uncle, but, if I'm not mistaken, someone got back in touch with him through Facebook.  BIL & his wife went to Cph for a couple of days a few weeks before we went.  Now they're here!  They landed in Atlanta, then went to my in-laws for a few days.  They stopped by on their way to see more of the Southeastern U.S.  The bad news is that we only had 1 day to show them the highlights of our area.  Not enough time at all.  It was hard deciding where to take them in just 1 day.  I knew uncle enjoys history, and there is something very secretive about a town not too far away from us. So, we spent the morning in the museum there, went to lunch, and then hit Party City!  LF was in awe!  I think she could've spent hours in there if we let her!  But, we had a big decision to make:  downtown in the big city, or the mountains.  LF made a decision and said mountains.  A lot of riding in the car, but I think it was worth it to them.  We saw over 20 deer, wild turkeys, and, to top it off,  they got to see their first black bear in its natural habitat!  (And, no, we did not get out of the car!)  As we were driving out, they also got to see a coyote.

Here's a picture of us in Denmark last year:

And in the U.S.A. yesterday:

It was so great to see them and to be able to spend the day with them!   I only wish we had had more time; there are so many other things I wanted to show them about our area, but they are on their way to DC to visit with BIL & SIL for a few days.  Guess it will have to wait for another time.  We hope to get back to Denmark soon....very soon!

THE LAST MONDAY!

Look at my ticker right above this post.  Do you realize what it says?  THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL!  This year has flown by, but I'm ready to get some R&R for a few weeks!

I do have to clarify something that I put in my previous post:  MS pointed out that his class had actually lost 4 games; I forgot that when they were freshman they lost to a team in the nearby Big City.  (I thought that happened the year before.)  I did get the undefeated part right, though!

Here are a couple of interesting items in the news in my area this past week:
1)  A black bear was seen Thursday morning on the campus of a high school in the school system where I work.  Seems the bear went up into a tree on an adjacent property, and the wildlife officer deemed it harmless because it went up and had a snack.  Plus, it wasn't on school property, so it wasn't a threat to the students.  Thursday afternoon (after Sheriff's deputies watched it all day) she climbed down and then climbed into another tree.  They apparently decided to leave her after school, hoping she'd go back into the woods when it got cooler.  Guess she went on her way:  there wasn't anything in the paper about her as a follow-up.

2)  In Sunday's paper, there was an article about a man getting bit by a bear because he got too close to it while trying to take a picture of it.  The paper reported that he got within inches of her.  Seriously?  Are you kidding me?  This guy gets the idiot of the week year award.  I have to tell ya, when we go up to the mountains, go around "Loop Road" and see a bear, everybody has stopped, and some idiots people go traipsing across the field with their cameras to get a picture of it.   People:  When you go to the mountains and you see a bear, watch from a distance.  They are not pets.    They. Are. Wild. Animals.  Wild, not tame: not there for you to walk up to, not in a cage, not at the zoo, and definitely not at a petting zoo. 

3) The big city near my small town apparently compiles an annual list of 15 buildings for an endangered historic preservation list.  On the "Fragile 15" (No, I'm going to go through all of them...just a couple that sparked my interest!):
  a)  A building on the university campus:  The owner (an architect)  designed it for a childhood friend, who was the heir to Coca Cola.  The building was willed to the university with the stipulation that it was not to be sold or subdivided, and has to be used for certain purposes.  It's been vacant since 1983.  The historic organization offered to put in up to $200,000 to repair the building and keep it from deteriorating further, but the university said no, they would take up private donations instead.  Hmm...wonder how I can get my house on that list?  Wonder if having a bomb shelter in the basement would help?  (I'll have to tell my house story in another post!)
  b)  A building (or maybe it's all of the buildings...the story wasn't real specific) that was on an African-American college in the big city:  The building was designed by the students, and built with bricks that the students made on site.  Very cool.
When we went to Copenhagen last summer, it was amazing to see all of these buildings that had been there forever.  I think we, as Americans, should take a clue from them.  They will update the inside of the buildings, leaving the historical integrity of the facade.  Or, they find ways to integrate the old and the modern.  For example:  Here is a building that was used for making torpedoes during WWII; it's now an apartment building:

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example because that building hadn't been there forever, but you get my point!  My main point is that, in the U.S., our thinking is to tear it down and rebuild it, but in other countries, it is more important to keep the historical aspects of a building and modernize the inside.  Like this apartment building:

 

Husband & I went out last night for our anniversary dinner.  It's not until Tuesday (Gee, wonder what Tuesday's post will be about?), but with soccer and the band banquet, we decided to go out then.  We're so cheap:  we used a 2 complimentary dinner coupon I got for Christmas from Ms. Principal!  Can't beat it:  2 starters, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts for free, plus the waiter gets a very large tip!  Winners all around!  Oh, and the food was most excellent!

Hope everyone has an Extraordinary Monday!