Monday, June 27, 2005

My Early Morning Encounter with Wildlife

Is it bad luck to have a black bear cross your path? Because that's what happened to me this morning! On my way to work, at about 7:15 a.m., a big, black bear came lolloping over the hill...oops, I digress into a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang quote...No, seriously- he did! About fifty yards in front of me. One minute there was an empty road...and the next, there was a real live BEAR! And he didn't just amble sleepily across the road- he charged from the underbrush, galumphed across the road and dove into the brush on the other side. If I had been in his way, I think he would have just ploughed into me. I was quite shocked and drove for about fifteen seconds saying nothing but, " Oh my word, oh my word, oh my word..." I have lived in N.H. for almost thirteen years, and this is the first time I have ever laid eyes on a black bear. Or any bear, for that matter, that wasn't in a zoo.

We have started doing half days of summer school and we are starting a unit on Mark Twain. When Linda asked the girls if they knew who he was, one of them replied, " Isn't he a country singer?" Close, but no cigar, my dear.

17 comments:

KW said...

Well blow me down....I never...
good thing you didn't have your neck stuck out
the window like a dog...haha

ljm said...

Mark Twang, maybe.

Mrs. RF said...

He probably did that just so you would have something new to post on your blog.

Booker said...

Lucky you...

JBT2 said...

I'm surprised at you Claire lil ole me has seen more bear than I care to relate. Just for example: I almost hit one my first time in NH. And I'm sure you remember my episode earlier this year. However, I'm glad you are finally getting to enjoy the New Hampshire wildlife. Better late than never.

Shari said...

Wow, that is amazing. We've been hiking a lot on the weekends and I've been hoping to see a bear (or some deer or mountain lions) but no luck so far. I remember camping up in Yosemite during my childhood and how unbelievably common it was for us to see bears. My mom, her friend and I were walking towards the bathroom one evening and we came across 2 bears (one brown, one a beautiful golden color) laying on top of the trash cans. My mom's friend shone a flashlight into the bear's face and we stood there watching it for a few minutes and then went on our way. Of course, now they lock all trash and food into bear-safe containers, but back then it was a free-for-all. And the bears didn't care that we were around. It was kind of neat, but it's probably better for the bears that they stay away from us and don't become socialized.

ahappywife said...

Shania's husband, right?!

Bekah said...

wow eventful day, really overshadows my frequent fright with the overly common raccoons in the area. I eithe need to walk farther from dumpsters over remember they may pop out at any moment in the dark hours.
As for Chitty, well, she is our fine four fender friend...
Twain I enjoy, wasn't it he who said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."?
Anyways. I do love some twain, though not one much for twang.
*smiles*

somewherein72 said...

Hmm...only a single bear crossing your path? Well, it is larger than a black cat..and you know what they say about that...so I wonder if the bad luck factor has anything to do with the size and species of the animal?
Seriously...if you want to see bears...come to Tennessee. I've seen several black bears on hikes around here. Three of them crossed my path on a drive once...a freakin' family of 'em!

CKS said...

"Lolloping over the MOUNTAIN," Claire, the MOUNTAIN. Maybe you should watch Chitty again.

Someday I'm going to post about my bear dream on my blog. Someday. Keep checking for it. It's a doozy.

Kristi said...

Hmph, some people just get all the adventure in life! The most exciting thing to ever cross the road in front of me would be a squirrel.

Claire said...

Craig- ARGH! One of my mortal fears is getting caught in a misquote! I actually sat here and thought to myself, " Is it hill? Or is it mountain?" But Brad was not home to check with...and I rashly went ahead and posted...Sigh.

Shay Dawg said...

Yay, you saw a bear. I was really excited when I saw a black bear cub in the white mountains the last week of bible school. It was on the side of the rode, just crying away. Poor thing, hope it found it's mamma.

redsoxwinthisyear said...

Isn't the cultural literacy of today's average teenager astounding? Oh well. At least they'll relate to some of Twain's more controversial dialogue.

CKS said...

It's okay, Claire. I really should have left the misquote alone. I remember well how I felt when I quoted "R-U-N-O-F-T" from O Brother and Melissa corrected me with the second N. It was rough for a few minutes. But I guess we're all here to keep each other on the right path, eh?

Claire said...

Eh.

:)

Booker said...

Oh come on Claire!!!! Beat on him!!! Really, really, really, really hard!!!! He even practically asked you to...