Watched the numbers until the wee hours of this morning.
Then went to bed...knowing.
But the sun is shining today...and the geese have flew over, honking as they go...and life goes on.
John..I..my sister and several of our friends...just numb.
Heading into a hot bubble bath...and life...goes on.
love,
Carla
November has arrived!
And with it the 40+ degree mornings...turning on the heat to take the chill off the house...wood-smoke scented candles...the leaves on my black locust tree immediately turning brown and beginning to fall...and steak & fried potatoes with onion for breakfast!
Plotting and planning the buttoning down of the outside borders and container gardens this week...fall planting of bulbs and some of the Blue Angel Hosta roots that John brought over from his gardens for Spring...tidying and stowing.
End of Fall stuff.
We are planning an early Thanksgiving together...and Tina and I will be celebrating Sisters Day/her 59th Birthday later this month.
And making Christmas plans.
But for now...it is nap-time...and the cat says I must go!!!!!
love,
Carla & Tux
And Lachlan visited his first ever pumpkin patch :)
I have Snickers in case any of the grands happen by...and a jar of Organic Pureed Pumpkin baby food for the littlest one.
Everywhere is decorated!
Tomorrow, October is over...
Enjoy the Spooky Month!
Love,
Carla, John and the cats...
Our Wide-Awake Crew
My 1st Halloween...
"I'm a dinosaur.....rawrr!"
Saturday, Tina and I had Sisters Day. Lisa was still feeling pretty rough and wasn't able to make it.
We talked...admired the ,la tee-shirt and chucks...had a pumpkin pizza (shown above) and pan of brownies...discussed the up-coming election...and were blissfully unaware that our Sisters Days were about to change forever.
At 2 AM on Sunday, Tina got The Call and by 6 AM, Lisa was gone.
We have spent the last few years getting to know each other better, doing all those things you miss out on as kids, loving each other.
Now there are just the two of us.
Lisa is dead.
And Tina and I are just numb.
Sometimes, there is never enough time, or tears.
love,
Carla
A busy week/weekend.
Chris (and Don) both got a year older...and we had a Fall Chinese Brunch, here...with Lachlan.
It was wonderful!
And did you see the meteor?
"Well, shit..."
John and I attended James and Jess' wedding and reception on Saturday!
Still sorting through the photos.
Perfect day for it!
They had the ceremony at Cataract Falls...with Tina officiating and Chris doing some amazing photography.
Later, we would all go back the their house for food and the first dance and cake cutting.
Wonderful turnout!!!
856 and 903 would be the last bears out and about this year.
Now everybear is asleep and the cams went off.
We will be back next year.
Kansas won their game against the 49'ers, and is now 6-0, baby!!!!
You could probably hear me yell in happiness from here!
And...I voted early.
Everything is over except the counting, for me.
Love,
Carla
Getting downright chilly at night...and you can smell wood-smoke in the air. Baking in the mornings to take the chill off the house. Started today with steak and fried potatoes with onions, and toast covered in apple butter!
Fall.
This week...busy, but quiet.
Most of it thanks to my phone...which finally died. Not to fear, I replaced it yesterday...kept my number, but lost my contacts...which sucks...slowly rebuilding.
Lennon escaped Milton and is close to Alabama/Florida line until Sunday.
A monster of a storm just a couple weeks after Helene hit. Milton made landfall at Siesta Key as a Cat.3, but there has been extensive flooding and damage. I'm glad he evacuated. It had whipped up to a Cat.5 on Tuesday.
Fat Bear Week is over.
Although competition was stiff...
Grazer #128 emerged victorious---again!
The first snows have started to fall there and hibernation is right around the corner.
Lachlin is 4 months old!
Taylor came to the last game sparkly...
I've been watching closely as the election unfolds.
Watched as Obama has taken the last leg of this journey to stump for her!
And I think I've found my charcuterie layout for Sisters Day.
Got my booster (Covid) on Thursday and now have my ballot to mail back for Election 2024...and life is good!
Love,
Carla, John and the cats
"Sleeping...G'way..."
My very favorite time of year.
Our Getaway last week was wonderful!!!
With shopping (...found a fall scarf that is so soft it feels like it was knitted from baby kitten fur...), a medium sized saute pan, and next year's calendar!
My guy brought me chocolates and, best of all, Amish Apple Butter!!! It is great on bagels, toast, or just straight out of the jar by the spoonful.
(...don't judge me...)
And we saw the new
It was amazing...and very funny!
Breakfasting on peach cobbler..coffee with ice cream...butter and salted grits and hash brown casserole!
It was PERFECT.
Already have Our Fall Adventure in the works.
Complete with a picnic in the park with the Fall leaves!
Came home to the remains of Helene.
Lennon has been off work for days.
Anne-Marie Island was hammered...and a curfew from dusk to dawn is now imposed.
With most of the damage resulting from the storm surge...and a lot of the beach now relocated in the street.
In Perry and Cedar Key where Helene made landfall there is near total devastation.
Along this coastline 100+ homes were reduced to splinters.
They estimated a 12 foot storm surge.
A hurricane as wide as Washington DC to Indianapolis.
And this is why it hit the coast as as CAT 4 but remained a CAT 2 as it moved up into Georgia, finally hitting North Carolina, Tennessee...
Most of the damage in Carolina and Tennessee from flooding...which has been catastrophic.
Even here, Indiana, the remains roared through on Friday night with wind, rain,broken trees and limbs, and scattered debris.
You could immediately tell that it wasn't your summer thunderstorm.
In the midst of it a fist-sized smooth lime-green tree frog affixed himself to the corner of my patio door glass. His suction-cup toes holding him in place and eyes tightly closed.
In the morning light the frog was gone...the glass was covered with leaf remains...the patio with debris and it has become a meme in its own right.
...yes...we will rebuild...
Hard to believe/understand, but the winds seem to have stripped a lot of the needles off my tiny pine tree. We are hoping it makes it.
Then there was FOOTBALL.
The Colts won...and are 2-2, now.
Kansas City won...and are an impressive 4-0.
The Vikings and Chiefs are the only undefeated teams currently!!!
...I'm hoping for a SB three-peat...
It is that time of year...and WEDNESDAY will begin the voting for Fat Bear!!!
And we (the Bear Folk) were pretty damned excited about it, too.
Then yesterday happened.
Lord Tennyson once opined that"
"...nature is red in tooth and claw..."
but nothing could have prepared us for what unfolded live on bear-cam before our eyes.
Patches #469 was out in Kat's River...the massive boar was engaged in what first appeared to be a harmless game of bitey-face with an equally large somebear.
...we know, now sadly, that somebear turned out to be our Brooke #402...who, because of her numerous litters is called Mother of Bears...
(Who had made this year's Fat Bear Contender)
The game quickly turned more and more serious and the two were engaged in a full scale battle which lasted a long long time...maybe ten minutes or more...then a sigh of relief as they pulled away from each other and it seemed to be over.
But it was not.
They had both swam away quite some distance from one another when Patches suddenly turned around and was swimming in a straight line back at her.
She seemed to realize the danger and was swimming hard to get away from him...but it just wasn't fast enough.
He overpowered her and held her beneath the water until she drown.
Just like that.
...at this point, viewing it live, it was beyond traumatic...
Then dead...he dragged her body (over 600 pounds) to the shore where he began to consume her...eventually pulling her into a wooded area to cache and, thankfully, off camera.
...we sat in stunned silence...
Later, last night, Rangers Mike, Naomi and Sarah would hold a conference of sorts to help us process what we had watched in horror.
It is possible that by her swimming away frantically it triggered a predatory response and sealed her fate.
It is possible he was enraged, and finished the fight.
But #402 is gone.
#32, who is the Alpha this year, quickly fought Patches off his cache and claimed it for himself.
And, although most of us know, that a bear's life is harsh...today we saw how cruel nature can be.
Tonight is the VP Debate!
Love and Hugs,
Carla
