Cougars & Hunters & Bears, Oh my!

For the first time, we had Easter somewhere other than here at home. I'm so glad we got to egg hunt somewhere other than our own backyard, which looks like a cross between Lil Abner's dogpatch and a construction site. We hid 205 eggs in the woods around the cabin...it was very fun hunting those eggs! Hiding places are much different in the woods than they are here in shrub-steppe land!

We went on several hikes while we were there. That's always the highlight of trips to the cabin...wandering around in the woods. We saw plenty of evidence of deer and elk. We even came across an elk carcass. At the time we supposed it had been hit by a car and dragged itself off, only to be later scavenged by coyotes (the carcass was in pieces). But Clint later discovered from the local store owner that there are two cougars thought to have dens in the immediate vicinity. Kind of made my blood run cold to think we were just downwind of a cougar den...and the remnants of a previous kill. Apparently the forestry service is "watching" the den.

Then we had a bit of excitement when Rhiannon and Tamzin came back screaming from a walk just a short distance from the cabin with reports of having sighted a bear. Only Rhiannon saw it, but when she said "Look, a bear!" Tamzin turned and ran pell mell back to the cabin, screaming all the way. Clint and his brother went immediately to investigate, but were unable to find any trace of a bear. However, they took the precaution of taking all the cabin's garbage down to the disposal station in the nearest town, just in case the smell had been attracting visitors.

Why did the cabin have so much pungent garbage, you ask? Apparently the power went out, and had been out for perhaps a week or more before our arrival. Fortunately, they were able to get the lines repaired by that evening. So my father-in-law and brother-in-law, as first to arrive at the cabin, got to clean two fridge/freezers of all the yucky spoiled frozen fish, shrimp, meat, and other spoiled foods that were co-mingling in a smelly "soup". This was all tossed into garbage bags and left in the garage (we always cart the garbage away with us when we leave).

Papa Jo and Uncle Rob left the cabin four meals earlier than planned. So, I , as cook and menu planner for this weekend, had WAY TOO MUCH FOOD. Clint's male relatives can put away a lot of food. No bagel breakfasts for these boys. Every meal has to have at least 4 items, and it all has to be substantial. We're still eating food I had planned for the cabin. And, I couldn't leave any there. Had to bring it all home again, since Clint was worried the power would go out again.

This year I made an Easter Basket for Clint. I've never done that before. I'd forgotten how fun it could be to do mushy romantic things for your hubby. Clint hasn't a romantic bone in his body. Well, maybe he does, but his idea of romance is very...primitive. So, I gave up doing romantic things for him long ago, because I decided he just couldn't appreciate it. I'm not sure what inspired me to do the basket, but it was fun. We've been getting along so well these days, I guess I just couldn't resist doing something special. I filled it with treats I know he likes...sunflower seeds, beef jerkey, cashew nuts, potato chips, and trail mix with lots of tropical dried fruits. And he so didn't expect it that the girls had to point out to him that the basket sitting untouched at his spot was for HIM! He didn't say much about it, but I think he liked it, because he's eating all the goodies...Maybe it's true what they say about the way to a man's heart.

And what about the hunter? Well, my brother Chris and I took a hike together Easter morning while the girls played with their Easter stuff and Clint napped. It was a bit creepy, I'll admit, going hiking with the thought of a bear and two cougars lurking about. But we pushed onward at a fast clip, looking for an old log bridge we had hiked to once before. We were surprised to come upon an old man with two kids, all with rifles slung over their shoulders. Apparently they had been target practicing in the woods a short distance from the road.

Chris and I agreed, as we continued our hike, that the "hunters" frightened us far more than the possibility of cougars or bears. We walked loudly, though, to give wild things plenty of opportunity to run away...just in case.