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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Mother Nature didn’t know my plans

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Monday evening’s Bar-B-Q went off without a hitch at the volunteer rigs.  Above is this year’s ‘crop’ of refuge interns.  These interns work hard and put in plenty of hours on the refuge, so I guess they don’t have time to fix good meals very often.  Peggy and George, fellow volunteers that have been here since April 1, wanted to give them a farewell send off since they’ll all be leaving in the next week or two to go back to school.  There was quite a spread prepared for them that included pulled pork, deviled eggs, cole slaw, corn on the cob, baked beans, Key lime pie, and my whopper watermelon.  It was amazing to watch the amount of food that these young folks put away.  Surprised smile 

Dang, they all look so young!  I did notice that the girls outnumbered the boys, and that all of the young women had long hair.  The last time I had long hair I was a senior in high school.  This vibrant group of interns all seem to get along with each other, and have enjoyed their time here.  Sadly, that isn’t always the case.

As I took Emma for her first outs this morning, the skies were overcast and there was a rumbling beginning on the northwest horizon.  Guess that persuaded Emma to take care of her business in short order.  We made it back to the rig just in time to beat a downpour.  So much for my plans to do some touring on Roanoke Island early this morning.  Apparently, Mother Nature didn’t get a copy of my plans.

Along about 10:30, the rains halted and I took the opportunity to pack Emma in the car along with the garbage containing all the melon rinds from my Monday bonanza.  I didn’t need those fermenting away in the rig. 

_MG_9600I took the back gravel roads the five miles to the dumpster, and found a couple of flocks of turkeys gleaning brunch from some of the fields.  Emma was uninterested.

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As we rounded a curve, there was an obstruction in the road!  Mama bear and her three little ones were ambling down the road.  Emma spotted them, and suddenly came alive.

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As we came to a stop, Mama bear decided it was best to take her triplets into the woods.  The size of the cubs makes me wonder if perhaps the two on the right are males, and the smallest is a female? 

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                        Emma barked a little, and was on full alert as the family made its way into hiding.

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As we slowly approached the area they entered the woods, Mama bear kept her eye out for us as the kids hid.  I didn’t have time to switch the camera to manual focus, so you’ll have to look hard to see her behind the foliage that the camera focused on.

The rain began again after that, and continued all afternoon.  I did take care of a few other errands while we were out, but didn’t visit the places I had originally planned.  However, the short encounter with the bears made my day worthwhile, and I think you can probably guess how I’ll finish this post…

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                                                                               THE END!!  Winking smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

42 comments:

  1. That was a nice gesture to do a little feed for the interns, only at that age it's not a little feed.

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  2. Those babies are adorable. Lucky you to get to see them.

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  3. Nice that you got some "good" kids ... I'll have to admit that I'm a little cynical about interns, YCC, SCA etc these days. (Am I getting too old for their crap?)... But those bears would definitely have made my day, too! Wonder if the cubs are smaller if there are triplets? At any rate, glad you had your camera handy.

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  4. Those bear pictures are wonderful! Glad you got the opportunity to see them.

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  5. At least you remember when you had long hair! How great to see Mama and the three babies. Keep a ladder handy in case they get into a dumpster (a recent video I saw). You always have such interesting posts, Judy. Pats to Emma.

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  6. Great bear pictures!! And you got some rain!!...send some to Nebr., we could sure use it.

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  7. Oh my goodness. Those bears are delightful! How cute!
    Looks like a really happy group of interns.

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  8. You've upped the ante, four "ends" in a single picture. The competition is ON!!!

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  9. Bear cubs are just so darn cute that you just want to pick them up to cuddle...however, I won't be doing that! ;)

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  10. The baby bears were precious. And I always giggle at your "The End" pictures. :)

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  11. Aaaaaww, soooo sweet! Cutest ending ever!
    They must be heading for the dumpster for some fast food?

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  12. Amazing pics as always. . .I think you are going to have a great time at your new digs. . .enjoy!

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  13. We have some good, polite kids working here at Mesa Verde, but we also have a large group of partying kids. Wow, great to be able to see those bears. Some bears have been sighted on the property here, but I have not seen them.

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  14. Oh what precious babies!!! (the cubs...and the volunteers!) Great photos!

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  15. OK the cubs are so cute. But what is the lady about in the woods?

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  16. Great bear pictures, Judy--good thing you had your camera ready!

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  17. Glad you were in your vehicle when you encountered that mama bear with her cubs! Great photos as usual.

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  18. I'll say you had a good day! Great shots of the family!!! Cute little buggers running down the road like that!

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  19. I would call that a bear ending. Or bearly ending. Time to go to bed.

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  20. Judy, your bear pictures are wonderful! I believe I am now suffering from photo envy. As for the young people, I find that they are easier (and more fun) to work with than many of the older folks. Actually, it’s the middle age crowd that “bears” watching, their teeth are sharper.

    John and Ellen
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  21. Wowee! You hit the jackpot with the bears shots...wonderful!

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  22. What a cool experience or as you would say Judy, cool beans!!! Our chokecherries are getting ripe, we will be seeing bears soon.

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  23. If we didn't already have plans to spend time at the OBX refuges, your shot of the bears would have convinced me to go back.

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  24. Looks to me like you had a beary good time!

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  25. Love the bear pictures. What an amazing experience. Most people will only ever see bears in a zoo or pictures. Cool beans :)

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  26. What a bonus to be able to see those bears in the wild like that...I live for those wonderful moments...I guess that's why I love Alaska so much, you find some kind of wildlife around every turn....Shucks, Judy, I thought you would post a photo of you with long hair...I can imagine that would be just like ME with long hair....I have only had it once...a very long time ago. Have fun in the wild!

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  27. Bears, oh my! No lions and tigers, anyway. Living and working in a wildlife refuge gives you some great opportunities, and some big surprises too! What fun. Suzy has a story to tell about bears, up close and personal. I'll let her tell it some time. And we can tell you about up close and personal with a cow moose and calf. That can wait also.

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  28. Ha Ha....Mother Nature and YOUR plans!!

    But look what she had planned for you instead. What an experience. TRIPLETS!! Isn't that pretty rare? Thanks for giving me the chance to see them too. Don't think I have your luck in sightings.

    You also have the best knack for getting those back end shots.....hmmmmmmmmmmm :-))

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  29. Nice to reward the Interns and even nicer that they deserved it. Wonderful bear pictures. You got some great shots. Liked those ones through the trees too.

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  30. Great post.
    Really looking forward to visiting this area.
    Adorable young’uns, bear and human both.

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  31. Judy~how lucky you were to see the mama bear and her triplets. They are so adorable. Keep the great wildlife shots coming, sure do enjoy them.

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  32. Oh my gosh! I am SOOOOjealous. We've seen LOTS of young pronghorns, buffalo, mule deer and burros here in SD but no bears. I've never seem a "litter" of three before. I'm sure the proper term for more than one cub is NOT litter.

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  33. Wow! What a post. Do you know how rare triplets are? Just wondering....

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    1. Not that rare. Black bears generally have twins or triplets, but are known to have between 1 and 5 cubs.

      For Phyllis: The group of cubs may be called a 'sloth of bear cubs'.

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  34. Great bear photos - it's always more exciting to see the wildlife with their babies. I have yet to see my first bear, but I'm not in the right places. Maybe in the future. In the meantime, I'm loving all your wildlife shots, especially the cubs. They are so cute. :)

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  35. such a nice blog i like the bear you attach.thanks Trekking Uttarakhand

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