This week started out a bit rough - two days in bed with a migraine, but by Wednesday I was on the mend.
We had quite a bit of excitement here on Tuesday evening. I had finally gotten out of bed and was sitting on the couch when I noticed the apple tree outside my front window was waving in what I thought was a heavy wind. It was 7:30 in the evening and when I went to the window I was surprised to see one very big bear in our apple tree! Oh my goodness. I video taped his antics for 10 minutes while we tried from inside the house to shoo him away. My husband tried banging pots and pans, and turning on the alarm on both our cars - to no avail. I was sure the tree wouldn't hold the bear's weight as it climbed higher and went out further on the branches. He finally came down, and then lay down under the tree. At this point I went out on the porch, and shooed him away. Even though the apples are not yet fully ripe the next day my husband and I went out and picked about forty pounds of apples. This is on top of the forty pounds we had picked when my son was here. There are still some left too high up for us to reach, but I check every day to pick up any fallen apples.
On the knitting front it has been all about the gansey. I am determined to have this finished before the recipient gets home at the end of September. I am almost at the point to start the underarm gusset and to split for the sleeves.
I did manage to get for a swim on Thursday and this morning as well. Despite masks being made mandatory again in indoor spaces the pool will be opening up without need for pre-booking on September 7th. I will see how safe I feel. It is also a day to day decision here with our Covid-19 numbers on the rise once again. Our government is requiring a vaccine passport starting September 13 to attend any non-essential service such as theatres, indoor gyms/pools, restaurants, music venues, etc. I have to admit I am glad for this and I hope this will get out daily numbers reducing once again.
I have once again resurrected my novel. I have applied for an ISBN number, and I am doing final edits (again) so I can upload it to Kindle as an ebook. I have been working on a cover page this week - although I am in a steep learning curve with the picture editor to try and get the text correct. My son-in-law has offered to help which is great. I am also in a steep learning curve between Word and Google Docs and then I have to convert the finished manuscript into the format that Kindle wants. My son has offered to help with that. I am so fortunate to have people in my life to help me get over the hurdles that can often impede my progress. So stay tuned. Maybe by next month there will be a link to my self-published ebook.
I will leave you today with a lovely photo of my daughter and grand-daughter inside a very cool cave near to where they live.
Have a good week dear readers. If there are bears, may they be gentle.
What an exciting life you live LOL. I think I would have fainted if I saw a bear in my front yard. The video was awesome though. The gansey is growing at a great rate. I am excited for you and the fact you are going to self publish your book. Let us know when it becomes available for purchase!
ReplyDeleteOh that’s so exciting. I would be hopeless if there were bears nearby, I’d be putting apples out for them, but that’s easy for me to say when the closest thing to a bear I have is a teddy bear 🧸 In Scotland bears, lynx, wolves and beavers were hunted to extinction long ago but they have reintroduced beavers but of course without any big predators there numbers have grown too much and now they are culling some, There are consultations about reintroducing more extinct animals here, like lynx but the sheep farmers are obviously against it. I would much prefer we had lynx managing deer populations than people shooting them. Unfortunately bears won’t ever be reintroduced here 😢
ReplyDeleteGoodness!! The biggest thing we get are coyotes. Glad no real damage from the bear. What do you do with all those apples?? Apple Butter? How exciting to publish a book!! Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteWhat a video! We only ever get slightly grumpy squirrels in our trees. Do bears come around when you are out and about in the garden, or was this one making a dash for some tasty treats whilst everyone was inside? Your gansey is beautiful, I can’t wait to see that finished.
ReplyDeleteI can't help it, I laughed about the bear. I was thinking maybe the local wild life could help out with your over abundant apple trees! At least you were inside and it looks like its "just" a normal black bear. I haven't seen a wild bear in YEARS, my mom says she gets bears all the time in her yard since they don't have a dog.
ReplyDeleteI'm also feeling pensive about the lack of masks around here, even with the high vaccination rate (but a climbing infection rate). My workouts are at a studio with a small clientele, and my trainer has been opening up the rolling door to keep fresh air circulating (and goodness is it HOT). He wears a mask all the time because his wife is an organ recipient and is super high risk (and they have a young son who is ineligible for vaccination at this time).
I love the gansey, and I am so proud of you for working on the publishing of your book! Sometimes the tech learning curve is just enough to hold us back, and I'm glad you are using your resources to overcome that!
Oh my goodness! That bear looks huge in that tree! I can't imagine that sight in my front yard. You are so brave. I'm glad you took the video and shared it with us. How wonderful that you are so close to publishing your book! Not only are you brave, but you are tenacious, too. Very cool picture of your daughter and granddaughter. :)
ReplyDeleteIt’s good to hear your news, Mary-Anne! What a naughty bear, but I guess they need food too. Pity he can’t find it in the forest where he belongs. Your knitting looks lovely! The lucky recipient who receives it. Your granddaughter is growing up! That looks like an interesting spot. Cheers, Pat
ReplyDeleteIt’s good to hear your news, Mary-Anne! What a naughty bear. Too bad he can’t find food in the forest where he belongs. The knitting looks lovely, lucky recipient who receives that. Your granddaughter is growing up! What an interesting looking place! Cheers, Pat
ReplyDeleteOh my word! I'm so grateful he didn't break your tree! I wish I had an apple tree....how wonderful! What do you do with all of them? Your Gansey is gorgeous. I love the blue. Congrats on your book!!!
ReplyDeleteI published before I was ready! LOL! Your granddaughter is getting tall! It's funny because my grands went to caves this past weekend also.
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