Andy and I went up to the land yesterday afternoon to view the aspens, see where the bear(s?) had damaged the fencing, take a walk, etc. It was a great day for it — some of the aspen leaves were still green and others were in the height of their autumn glory. We were surprised because usually the colors aren’t that vivid unless we have a cold spell, and it’s been unusually warm this year. Another difference is they almost always turn only yellow, unlike the maples in the East that turn yellow, orange and red. This year there we actually had some red and oranges — we’re still scratching our heads about that. The quality of the following picture sucks, but it does show the colors. I took it when we walked down to Beate and Tim’s.
Here’s a picture of Andy pulling up the fence around the redwood tree, one of several that a bear had partially pulled down.
We couldn’t think of any reason a bear would want to get at the trees, but now I’m wondering if it (they?) were using the fences to mark their scents. We don’t have any good trees for them to use, so who knows?
(Here’s a video showing how bears mark trees:)
And here is a picture of little bear paw prints on our shed door. That one must have been little!
We didn’t see any bears yesterday, of course, but there was a deer in our old driveway as we walked up from Beate and Tim’s. She saw us, looked at us for a bit, then slowly walked off the road and up the side of the hill. And on the drive home we saw a couple of elk by the side of the road.
This picture is another one that doesn’t do justice to the scene — it’s the view we saw as we ate our picnic supper at the dining room table. The late afternoon light made the grass golden.
Yes, all in all, it was a great trip!
certainly does look like a great trip – thanks for the words and photos…
I appreciate your posts and pictures too.
Autumn glory indeed, some wonderful leaf colours there. Lots of very colourful trees over here too.
Yes, what are the bears up to with the trees, I wonder? Marking their scents sounds like a plausible explanation.
There’s a plague of ladybirds in England apparently. Something to do with a cold spell after a hot summer. I’ve seen photos of huge clusters of them on people’s walls, windows etc.
Yuck about the ladybirds! I Googled them and it says, “The Harlequin ladybird is the ‘most invasive’ on Earth, experts say.” Thank goodenss they’re harmless!
Beautiful scenery and good photographs to remind you of a very pleasant trip.
Yes, pictures are invaluable as memory triggers.
I love everything about this post.
The thought of you both walking around in that beauty.
The photos of your tree
And your DOOR! Lol!
And the cute video of the momma bear and her little ones.
Totally enjoyed this
And Iām sure you must have had a very good day!
š
Thank you!
oh my. and Cindi said it so well!
count me in too! xoxo
those tiny paw prints on the door… adorable!
I agree, those paw prints are priceless. Just by themselves they would have made the trip worthwhile. LOL! (Which means more than laughing out loud, that will be a future post.)