Holidays and absences

Thanks for the info and the anecdotes, David. I've always liked bears but I don't know a ton about them. I actually visited a number of other towns including Sitka, Skagway, and Haines on that trip, but I only ever saw the one bear. Unfortunately you're not that much more likely to see a bear on the East Coast than you are in Europe, though I think ours are more shy than endangered. The East Coast is much more densely built up than the West Coast, in any event, so maybe I just don't live in a rural enough area.

Amarië wrote:We'll be leaving tomorrow. Will be seeing you when I have time and if there's internet where we are at the time.

I hope that you have a good trip, and don't let us Internet folk eat up all of your time.

Speaking of bears, someone just showed me this video of two bears in a residential neighborhood in Florida and it made me think of this thread.

HI! found a place with internet! I'm having a blast!!!

Glad your enjoying yourself Norc and that you can check in too. No getting drunk and teasing the trolls!

not planing to either, Petty, I'm going to bed though cuz we have to be up hat 7.30 :S and it is 2.26 in the morning right now.

7:30! In the morning! Are you sure you're on holiday Norc?

Someone might want to tell Norc how holidays are supposed to work

I enjoyed your bear stories. Here in Michigan there are black bears, especially as you go farther north. I grew up in a commercial fishing village, and when I was young the fish guts/waste/etc was still disposed of in the woods (though they have stopped doing that many years ago). We used to go out there and watch bears feasting on the fish. They never bothered any body. Occasionally, one will stroll through town and tip over a garbage bin or three, and then leave again.

I wish I had some cool bear stories, I could tell you some hedgehog ones, but they just dont have the same mixture of fear, awe and cuteness.

But considerably more spiky I'll warrant!

Since the bear stories seem to be popular here's another one, (though it's much better when acted out. )

When I was little there was a large old gasoline powered irrigation pump that lived in a shack in the middle of our fields. On clear frosty spring nights my dad would tend it all night long, sprinkling water on our crops to keep them from freezing. One hard killing frost can destroy most of a year's income in half an hour, which was enough reason to lose a night's sleep.

One particularly long cold night, in the coldest hour just before dawn, Dad realized he was running low on fuel, so he left the pump running and walked the couple hundred yards back through the fields and woods to our house, refilled two fuel cans, and hurried back to the pump in the early twilight, hoping to get back before the pump died.

Now the footpath crossed a drainage canal on a 20 foot log about 5 feet above the water. On this night the log was frosty and slippery, but it was by far the shortest path. Dad was focusing on placing his feet carefully on the slippery log, so he didn't look up before he stepped out onto the log.

He was almost halfway across when he noticed a large black shadow directly in front of him. On closer inspection the shadow resolved itself into a large black bear who had been attempting to cross the log in the opposite direction until Dad had carelessly blocked his way.

They were only a few feet apart, and on the icy log with 5 gallons of fuel in each hand Dad didn't dare turn around, but neither could the bear! It was something of a dilemma......

So Dad started slowly backwards, carefully placing one foot behind the other by feel, until he was well clear of the log. The bear seemed to have reached a similar solution, because after waiting a few minutes Dad took a cautious look and found the log empty. He crossed the log and got back to the pump just in time to keep it from dying.

I was probably 4 years old at the time this happened. Dad told me the story the next day, acting out both his part and the bear's part.

It was the first true bear story I'd ever heard, and I was absolutely enthralled! I asked for it many many times over the years as a bedtime story, until it eventually became a family legend. "Meeting a bear on a bridge" came to mean something like "discretion is the better part of valor."

I love bear stories. Its like a little bit of fable come to life.

I miss how off topic threads can get! Here I am, about to explain my absence, and all I read about are bears!
Anyway, I'm really sorry I've been gone for so long, I've just been very busy writing a school musical, playing golf and basketball, and somehow finding time to eat and sleep. I haven't had any buckie in WEEKS! And everytime I look at the little shortcut in my favorites tool bar that says "Log in", I feel a pang of guilt and wariness, knowing that I've been away so long that I'll have so much to catch up on! But I'm back, just in time for my birthday!!! I expect there to be at least one barrel of buckie left in my cellars Petty?

Your Majesty!! Forumshire is a brighter place once more for your elven grace. I hope you kocked plenty of goblin heads in to those holes Your Maj, although I am sure you triumphed. And didn't use any dubious, elven means at all to win, like that time withthe haggis racing.
And of course I have kept your buckie for your much hoped for return { } I'll just nip off and fetch it shall I? Rasberry wasn't it?

YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm Buckie deprived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't have that your Majesty. Luckily there was a full barrel at the back still, erm, I mean, one of many of your remaining barrels {{Just the only full one left}}, Your Maj.
Drink and be merry! (happy that is don't transfrom into a hobbit). Welcome home! slàinte mhath

Salude!

I thought you had drunk all Her Majesties buckie Petty, and had to get more from a troll you met in a pub, or was it that stuff you said fell off the back of a troll I know a troll was involved

SShhhh! Discretion Mrs Figg! {{{If you must say such things do so discreetly! And it didn't fall off a troll it came out of a troll! A Scots buckie troll. They consume so much buckie in their lifetimes there pee is 100% buckie. Milking them on the other hand is entirerly an other matter!}}}

Back to back birthdays, how exciting! I didn't know that your birthday was tomorrow, Your Maj (did you just add it to your profile today? ). Anyway, happy early birthday! I hope Petty is up to task of making delivering two birthday editions of the NotP in two days.

And a Royal edition too! You know how Pure Publication likes to support the monarchy and get the cheap bunting out for her. And my backs knacked already.

And I believe Her Maj has sprung this one on us or else my old eyes were too drunk to notice! If it were anyone else, but its not its our own Queen Tinuviel, so the presses will be cranking up again.

Yeah, I don't remember seeing her age listed before now. Ah well, I'm glad to hear that Pure Publications is still hard work. We're all grateful for your tireless efforts.

Yeah..... about that, I thought I had put it in already, but I realized I hadn't, so I updated it. A queen is never late, everyone else is simply early! Nor does a queen lie! And even though it is my 1,017 birthday tomorrow, I am really hoping for a LOTR lego set Hopefully Beren understood all of those post-it notes i left on his man purse every morning...

Cant wait for the Royal NOTP will it be like the Jubilee? Petty no more French pervy songs about 'Backs' please, that was disturbing,