I'm not FAT...I'm fluffy!
Sipping hot cocoa in the crisp mornings, now. Tried Caramel Apple Topped Waffles with Pecans. The summer birds (and bugs) are mostly gone and crows have replaced them. Most of the soybeans and corn have been harvested and the trees are slowly changing color.
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
Beetle Goose
