It’s been a rough four days. Our dog, Bart, is on what I would call a slippery slope. There is no way back up for him, and every day he slips down a little more. But then he surprises us, and just this morning walked down the stairs with the rest of the dogs and nearly made it down the front steps. Rick has been carrying him up and down the stairs, both inside and out, for several days now. He really is not much more than skin and bones. Bart is dealing with kidney failure and cancer at the same time. To watch his courage in the face of what he is going through is inspiring.

Bart just doesn’t have enough energy to do much on his own. We spoon feed him baby food three to four time per day. We’ve been giving him subcutaneous fluids since Thursday, and I think they help him to stay hydrated and feeling somewhat more comfortable.

Why not just euthanize him now? you might ask. Well, we feel it’s not what Bart wants. We’ve gone through many deaths with our dogs over the years and have always gone by our ‘gut’ feelings. Each one has been different and under their own set of circumstances. Especially if we thought the dog to be in pain or under undue stress from his or her condition, then we would have to decide to act. Bart does not appear to be in any pain. He just lies there quietly. When we say his name, his cute little brown eyebrows still shoot up and he looks at us. He’s still in there. Everytime we pass by wherever he happens to be laying we give him a pat, some sweet words and a kiss.

It’s not easy. But as ‘parents’ it’s what we do. Sure it would be easier on us and more convenient if we were to just euthanize him now. Would it be easier on him too? We have no way of knowing. All we can do is hope we are reading him correctly and give him his wish to live out what is the rest of his life at home. With us. Where he’s been since the day he was born.

Think Like a Tree
by Karen I. Shragg

Soak up the sun
Affirm life’s magic
Be graceful in the wind
Stand tall after a storm
Feel refreshed after it rains
Grow strong without notice
Be prepared for each season
Provide shelter to strangers
Hang tough through a cold spell
Emerge renewed at the first signs of spring
Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky
Be still long enough to
hear your own leaves rustling.

My favorite tree stands majestically in our front yard, right outside the window of our office. It’s an oak, but I’m not sure which variety. Perhaps a pin oak. I spread seed on the ground beneath its great height for the birds. The other morning as I was completing this daily task,  I happened to look straight up. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue with not a cloud in it and I knew I had to capture the beauty of its scores of twisted, gnarly branches.

I am really seeing it for the first time. We moved to our new home just last April and within a few weeks the trees had leafed out, so I had no opportunity to study it. In summer it’s beautifully lush and green and its dense foliage provides good shade coverage. Devoid of its leafy covering the tree’s structure is laid bare for all to admire. Limb after limb, branch upon branch, all intimately intertwined and connected to the mother tree trunk like so many arms and fingers.

Its bountiful branches provide shelter and perching spots for the various species of birds that inhabit my yard. Woodpeckers tap at its bark. Squirrels race up and down and around and around its mighty trunk.

The poem that I found [above] seems to say it all. Why can’t we all be more like trees? Isn’t Mother Nature grand?

After note: The birds are: Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Cardinal, Red-Bellied Woodpecker. Exactly what kind of squirrel; unknown.

Rick warned me. He didn’t think putting a bird feeder with a suet cake on the deck was a good idea. We had the hook already there from the hummingbird feeder. So, why not? The little titmice and nuthatch quickly found the new food and were fun to watch. The cats thought it was a good idea too as it made for improved bird watching, cat-style. Obviously, you as readers can already tell what’s coming. At least you have fair warning, whereas I did not. I have said many times that I wish I had a camera in my forehead that I could just trigger to catch certain photos. This was one of those times.

It was just after noon-ish. I walked into our sunroom which has large picture windows and sliding glass doors on both sides. We have two levels of deck with stairs leading down to the back yard. Here, let me show you as Sam [the Maine Coon] helps me demonstrate:

Okay, see the deck railing just behind Sam and the stained glass? What I saw when I came into the sunroom was one of the bear cubs standing [yes all four feet] on the railing, looking right at me. His head was just above where Sam’s head is. He looked just about as surprised as I was. I was so shocked and surprised that I did what most people would do. I screamed. I couldn’t help myself, I didn’t have time to think about my reaction. When I screamed the dogs started barking. I saw the other bear cub at the feeder [which would be right in back of that section of wall between the two windows]. The cubs took flight and all I could see was the paw of the one that had seconds ago been standing on the railing. His paw clung to the railing for a second; then he was gone.

It’s quite a drop so I was hoping it wasn’t hurt. Nope, not hurt, there is Ursa down in the yard and there go the two cubs running for the woods. Darn, missed that photo opportunity with my big mouth. But all I could think of at the moment was that the bears did not belong on my deck a few feet away from my house. You can visualize it for yourselves though, can’t you?

I gathered what was left of my wits about me and dashed for the camera. I went out on the deck to take a look. The bears were in the woods, but Ursa was heading back towards the yard. I waited. Sure enough, they entered the yard again. Ursa knew I was there; she looked me straight in the eyes.

She and I have an understanding of sorts. She knows my scent from our earlier encounters in the yard, and she knows it was me that dropped suet down to her when we thought she was stuck in the storm drain. It’s creepy, but there is definitely a connection. She knows I mean no harm, and in return she does none. For a person that has had a terrible fear of bears her whole life, I find my reaction to this bear and her cubs very strange. I named her Ursa after the run-in with the dogs we had earlier in the year. If you missed that post here is the explanation of her name. So, it just follows that I’ve now dubbed the cubs ‘Major’ and ‘Minor.’

They stayed and played awhile and what follows is a photo journal of their visit. I hope you enjoy it. I had to shoot fast, so I set the camera on the sport setting to minimize the blur from their movement.

Ho hum. I kind of like this yard. Let’s stay for awhile.

Hey, what is that lady doing up there? Is she watching us?

Hey, look, cool…a dog toy!

tag…you’re it!

I’m gonna get you now…

okay, let’s dance…but who’s going to lead?

oh, alright…you can lead…

After about ten minutes the cubs started to come up the yard and I knew they were headed for the deck again. So, I took the feeder off the post and looked Ursa straight in the eyes. I said, ‘Okay Ursa, that’s enough. There is nothing more for you here. You should go now.’ She turned towards the woods and ambled off with Major and Minor right behind her.

While I was on the phone telling my mom about my encounter, I looked out towards the back of the yard and noticed the gate looked like it was open. Yikes. Good thing I had not let the dogs out yet. Sure enough, the gate was open enough for the bears to either come in or go out, and the dogs as well. The latch had been tampered with and it wasn’t catching anymore. I put a bungie cord on it to hold it closed. They’ve always just come over the fence before, not the gate! And, the other thing I want to know is did they use the stairs to get on the deck? Or did they climb up one of the poles? The dogs gave the yard a good sniffing when I finally let them out and Alex went right to the gate. So, they must have gained entry via the gate this time. Clever, brazen bears.

Post note: As an afterthought I found this website and learned more about our resident black bears.

My bedroom curtains billow out in long, white tails in the soft breeze coming in the windows. The air is warm, but not overly so; and not humid. I go outside in my new-on-my-birthday fleecy flip flops with no jacket or sweater. The grass is green. The sun is shining and its rays are warm. I glance over at our pool and think about taking a swim.

But…WAIT!

There is something not quite right about this picture I am painting. The pool is still closed up for winter and the trees are bare of leaves. Even though at 67 degrees it feels like Spring, it isn’t. It’s only January. My neighbor told me her spring bulbs are coming up and her forsythia bush has a bloom on it.

My mother-in-law called yesterday morning to, as she put it, rub salt in an already sore wound. It was snowing at her house. Big, fat, fluffly flakes. It had covered the ground and the bushes. However, they live in Las Cruces, New Mexico! They hardly ever get any snow. Has the whole world turned upside down?

My new flag looks kind of silly now.

From Atari’s PONG to Nintendo’s Wii. That’s our video game history together. Do you remember when Pong first came out back in the late 70s? The very first video game of our time to become widely popular, it entertained us with its simple table tennis premise. We had one. I think Rick had it before we were even married. If not for him I would probably never have started down the video game addiction road.

We got our first Nintendo while living in France. We didn’t have much in the way of television to watch that was in English, so we played lots of video games. It was something we could do together; either playing against each other or watching the other person play out a game. It really is almost as much fun watching as playing yourself. I can still remember one of our favorites: Star Tropics. Later, back in the States, we bought the Nintendo 64. About two years ago we upgraded to the Nintendo Game Cube since games were not being made for the 64 anymore. We spent many cozy hours in our cabin while the wind raged outside and the snow fell while we played video games.

Our friends, mostly all with children, thought we were a bit juvenile. After all, video games were what their children were playing! It’s pretty bad when you go over to a friend’s house and end up having a conversation with their kids about how to beat the big boss in SuperMario. Almost embarrassing. But it didn’t stop us. We liked the game formats that Nintendo offered [Mario, Zelda]. We tried getting a PlayStation one year and just weren’t happy with it. We got an XBox the year after they came out and still have it today. There are a lot of violent shoot-em-up games for both of the other formats. But we don’t play those kinds of games. We tend to play the adventure, puzzle solving kind. Sure, I get to wield my sword and kill bad guys as a dungeon-going elf, but I also have to solve some pretty ingenious puzzles along the way.

Our newest and latest venture has been into a whole new world. The one of truly interactive game play of the Nintendo Wii. Now when I wield my sword as Link I have to make sure there aren’t any objects in my way that I can knock over. I have to make sure my control is firmly attached to my wrist via a safety strap, otherwise I might get too, uhm…shall we say…carried away and accidentally throw my remote through our new tv. Why you ask? Because instead of just pushing a control stick, now Link mimics my hand actions. What I do; he does. I swing my arm as if to slash with my sword; so does he. It’s magic. When Rick and I bowl we go through all the motions of real bowling. Amazingly enough, I have the same habits of how and where the ball meets the alley as I do in real life. The golf game is so much fun! And yes, you’ve got the idea now, you have to really stand there and swing your remote as if it were a golf club. When Rick and I play doubles in tennis the dogs all stay out of our way. It’s a wonder we don’t whack each other with our ‘rackets.’ But, again, it’s great fun and we’re getting exercise at the same time. We had sore arms and shoulders for days when we first started playing. We even had to open windows to cool down our sweat-soaked bodies. Over Christmas we even got my sister to bowl with us and I don’t think she’s ever played a video game in her life. She beat me! My mother, although we couldn’t entice her into playing with us, was thoroughly entertained by our antics.

I am now heavily immersed in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I think I’ve played around four different Zelda games over the years, but this one is the best. Getting used to new controls is a bit tricky and I don’t always make the jumps. But I’m getting the hang of it. Rick has different strengths, so he’s helped me over a few rough spots by taking over the controls for me. He plays along with me and we solve the puzzles together. It’s a together time. We are eagerly anticipating the new Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 to be released soon.

Video games are not just for kids. They improve your hand-to-eye coordination, keep your brain sharp through problem solving and lend a healthy dose of fantasy to your life. If you’ve never indulged, I highly recommend it. Go ahead, what have you got to lose?