Do bears poop in the woods?

The other day, next to the woodpile right beside our house, there was a big mound of fresh bear poop. Right when I snapped this picture, Art was explaining that, based on the size of the deposit, “it’s arse-hole must have been THIS BIG!” (it's the black blob just over Art’s left shoulder in the picture)I’ve got 3 hummingbird feeders up now (do you like the ingenious hanging device for that one in the middle?), but it’s not enough. I’ve got one more that I’ll put farther away. They really do fight, those little guys. Sometimes it sounds like a beehive out there.Here’s Chickie, taking a break from a hard day of bird watching and general sentinel duty. She’s so tired that even a rock makes an OK pillow.On Saturday night we had our second card making party at Walter and Audrey’s. She cooked another feast (if I keep going there for supper, I’m never going to lose this weight!) and we had hoot of a time. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages. There were no kids around, so even Walter and Russ joined in on the crafting.On Monday it was time to crack down and get some database work done. Art was moaning a little about how he’d rather be outside and just then Audrey called. She and Walter were delivering 2 bulls to a ranch near Houston and invited us to go along for the ride. ABSOLUTELY! It was a beautiful day (although it did try to snow a little here and there), the scenery was breathtaking and the company was A-one. They gave us the grand tour, pointing things out as we went. We stopped for lunch on the way, pie and coffee on the way back and they introduced us to people they knew. The ranch we went to was 32.5 km down a logging road and up a hillside facing Mount Nadina.Stunningly beautiful. They are off grid, so use a generator for power and have satellite internet and VOIP telephone. My kind of lifestyle. I didn’t want to leave! Here’s Art, Walter and the couple that live there, standing in front of Walter’s truck and cattle trailer.Audrey also did something very special. She gave me this cookbook, which is a collection of her family's favourite recipes. She even inscribed it to Art and I. What a sweetie! I love that woman.









I’ve been taking a lot of video of birds and was sitting on the veranda stairs when I thought that this was a cool angle of the burl logs.Speaking of taking pictures…..I hope you enjoy all the pictures I have been posting. I just think it makes the blog more fun. And I know that the family and friends that we left behind in Vancouver and Victoria are curious about where we have moved to.