Still here … we did not get ‘et by a bear :)

It has been a gorgeous several weeks: color, weather, general ambiance! Work is going well. Winter prep chores almost done … AND …

I ordered new windows for the 1/2 in the house that are old metal and moldy wood. The style is as above … what Andersen calls “gliding”. And I ordered black frames inside and outside. The material is the same as my new front door: Fibrex. They are super quality in build, glass, energy efficiency … and can be cleaned from inside … AND the screens are special also in that you can barely see that they are there, so even better to take photos of any passing bears, etc.

I have been receiving flyers from the company and decided to follow up and find out about them. I bit: hook, line and sinker – super nice, professional and personable designer/sales person who had samples and tech info galore! I am very happy. The downside is that I am on the schedule for March-April 2022. BUT, that gives me some time to round up the $$$.

Meanwhile…

The western larch are bright gold!

Even though, it is starting to get messy, needle-wise, the color has been spectacular.

And some snow on the mountain tops…

Add some cloud color to the gold!

Indoors, a new bread recipe that I am loving…

Apple, raisin, walnut sandwich loaf naturally leavened (sourdough). The recipe author says that it makes the BEST grilled cheese and I did like the grilled cheese I made with it, but I LOVED the turkey sandwich better!

I have been buying deli turkey online and it is wonderful. After the first 2 orders, I “stocked up” and I think that my Thanksgiving dinner might be a turkey riff on Shepherd’s pie or a turkey pot pie or something like that vs the usual turkey dinner. We will see :) !!

And here, at 48 North, the days are getting short … currently 10 hours of daylight to 14 hours of dark.

This Winter’s indoor gardening experiment: herbs and grow light sunshine helpers. It has been almost 3 weeks and so far, all are thriving. The oregano (top right) is the only thing that I am currently a bit concerned about. I am speaking encouragingly to all and asking if they need more light or less and how about the water/food situation? I have high hopes as they are not only delicious, but also pleasing to the eye in my office space.

With the shorter days, come more walks in the dark…

The dark o’clock walks are beautiful, though and light from the house always looks so welcoming as we make the turn to home.

End of October … so far, a beautiful Autumn.

I think … (*** now, 10/21, I know … see the end for confirming email from Fish, Wildlife and Parks)

This morning, I was working via Team (DMing) with a colleague and as I was writing a reply, something caught my eye and I turned to look out the window to my right…

By the time I picked up my phone to get the above photos, Emmett was with me and barking. The bear had been ambling toward the house, but as soon as Emmett barked, the bear hopped right and started trotting away.

I got my big camera … thankfully set to “Auto” for just this sort of thing and shot out the kitchen window.

If you have followed this blog for long, you will know that my wildlife identification can be iffy. Generally, it is a good thing I get at least reasonable photos (moving wildlife photography is also NOT one of my talents …) and have helpful neighbors.

Between continuing with work, texting my neighbor “heads up” photos and general excitement, I didn’t think much about what kind of bear it was. Again, brain stuck on what I usually see: black bears. Black bears come in brown and cinnamon so the fact that this bear was brown, did not mean it wasn’t a “black bear”.

But, then I got a reply text from my neighbor…

Huh…

BearSmart.com … go there (<== link) and then “About Bears” and then “Know the difference”…

So … First photo below is black bears from this spring, flipped horizontally so it lines up with the above and the 2nd photo of today’s bear.

And then … I happened to notice on the very first photo of this post … front claws. Cropped below.

The other indicator is the darker legs and lighter top.

I think my neighbor is right.

I think it is a Grizzly, albeit maybe a young Grizzly vs full grown adult. Still… Amazing to see!

*** This morning, I got to wondering if FWP would want to know about a Grizzly so I phoned. They are overwhelmed with problem bears people, but they said that if I sent photos, they would id if possible. So, I sent a link to this post…

A hard freeze on Thursday night killed all but the herbs. Focusing on the positive, I have rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint and chives!

And the microgreens I did move inside … they grow slower, but I grew them inside last Winter.

It was sad, though. It got colder than forecast. I might have tried to bring things in but I really did not expect a killing frost … BUT, we are to have more tonight through this week and hauling everything in and out gets old.

Onward! I am going to try to overwinter the herbs inside, but also have some thoughts for some Autumn-Winter decor on the front porch.

It is not general gun season yet, but it is bow season and the bow hunters are not required to wear orange. I haven’t seen any on the state land, but without orange, they can be hard to spot. We are being visible…

My new rain gear! Instead of black and gray as my last coats, I went for bright! It is called Marigold in the catalog. I think I am visible … also happy … it is a happy color, I think.

And talking about happy … Today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day. I know about it as one of the Vendee Globe skippers, Pip Hare, recorded a wonderful video of how she approached paralyzing anxiety during the Vendee Globe Race, in the Southern Ocean when the first really tough weather hit. The path in the Southern Ocean takes the sailors (solo non-assisted, 60 foot carbon fiber racing machines) in some of the remotest parts of the world’s oceans.

Pip Hare Instagram

Click on the link above to listen to Pip. (You might need to dbl-click or ctrl-click).

I found it a powerful and inspiring message. I watched all of Pip’s videos that were shared on YouTube as she raced (also most of all of the other skipper’s videos also). There were nights, when I had trouble sleeping, knowing where everyone was and an inkling of what they were facing.

I went through a period of time when what I thought was a physical issue, was diagnosed as anxiety … by 3 different doctors, before I started coming to a bit of acceptance and even then, it has taken awhile. I felt like anxiety was a bucket diagnosis for things not explainable. And part of that hesitation to accept the diagnosis was some stigma attached to mental health issues. For me, part of the path to dealing with my own anxiety has been learning to accept that it is part of me, i.e. putting a name to the problem.

Much of my issue is still often a mystery to me, but over the last years, I have found techniques that work for me: 4-7-8 breathing, quiet prayer and the best: going outside with Emmett … with no agenda, no problem to solve, but to concentrate on feeling the air, breathing, being 100% with Emmett in what we are doing, listening to the birds and squirrels and wind in the trees…

Nature takes its course.

Holy Cow … October!! It seems to me that just a moment ago, we were entering 2021 and here we are October … pre Holiday season and early Autumn.

This is my favorite time of year … cool, crisp, sunny days alternating with cooler, darker, rainy days … before the snow flies (hopefully!! ***)

It is also Friday and I got myself up early to do some cooking and baking:

Friday morning bagels! I started the dough yesterday afternoon, in the frig overnight and out this morning to shape, boil and bake. I enjoy the routine very much, especially now that mornings are dark and I work with lovely low light …

Meanwhile, I roasted Anaheim peppers and chopped Jalapenos for pickled Jalapenos. Another favorite cooking thing and the aroma of roasting peppers is wonderful.

Everything Bagels :)

And Bolillo, a Mexican crusty roll.

After the roasted chiles cooled, I chopped them up and froze portions. I used to buy the canned chiles, but they tend to have a “can” taste and I discovered that the chopped roasted chiles taste MUCH better.

Other morning projects included assembly of a new rack for a closet …

A weekend project will be some reorganization of my pantry cupboards. I am keeping more backup supplies and the system has come a bit disorganized … hence the new rack and a new plan … I like things organized!!

And another weekend project…

After my “not so great” Moose photos, I did some looking into a pocket sized camera with better zoom than my phone … but THEN … I found this kit which is a phone attachable lens kit: zoom, wide, macro … for FAR less $$$ than even a low end pocket camera.

SO.

This weekend I hope to play with this kit and see what it (and I and my iPhone) can do! BIG.FUN and my favorite kind of weekend project.

Emmett in a sunlit spot of the woods. We are having good times outside: walks, play, games … all so enjoyable in these beautiful Autumn conditions.

October 2021 … all is good!

***About the snow flying … there are many of us who have lived her for years and are recently impacted by many who think that they want to live here. It is good news/bad news. Good news [for me] was incredible increase in property value which allowed me to do some financial reorganization to my benefit – YEA! Bad news … the traffic has been horrendous, the good news for me re home/property value has also served to price locals out of the market :( . There are other impacts from the Montana wannabees and so there are some of us who hope for a VERY snowy, VERY cold winter that the wannabees might reconsider. It is bit of a catch-22 … see prop values, etc. The ramifications of one or the other are … well good news/bad news. Me … I would LOVE a real Winter because I love snow and cold and that a good Winter means reduced insects in Summer and I like to snowshoe … It will be what it will be :)

I know … mattress and logging … they go together like ????

Anyway.

In July 2015, I bought what I thought would be a great mattress. I went to a local store, spoke to a sales person, tried out several mattresses and made my selection.

But.

Not a great mattress and over the past year, I have tried to decide what to do.

Making a long story shorter, after spying an ad: “I am a mattress tester and this is what I sleep on” … and no, I did not rely solely on that ad. I read reviews for the choice and looked at a number of reputable rating sites. The mattress referenced consistently had good reviews as well as rating in the top 3 on the rating sites.

Considering that my last purchase in a store with “testing” was not a great purchase … I decided to go for a “virtual” buy and ordered.

The new mattress arrived yesterday: white glove (removal of old, removal of packing material and placement of new). It was slightly more than I paid for the store version.

Last night was the first sleep and WOW!!! early days, but I am very happy. Emmett is also. Emmett has always been a good and quiet sleeper, but this morning, he did not even get up with me … snuggled down for a bit of a lie in :)

We will see how it goes with time … there is a 180 night trial and free return, but based on last night and how good we both felt this morning … I think we might be good to go.

On to the rest of Thursday.

My neighbors … the ones with a backhoe and dump truck and chain saws… are doing some cutting of standing dead trees.

That is 4 trees, I think. I have plenty of firewood, but needed those dead trees down so the trade is: logging for firewood … they will take the firewood and I will benefit from those trees down and out vs maybe falling down in a wind storm. I am thrilled!

The mark of the beast :) … backhoe tracks.

Those 2 standing dead are left to come down … maybe tomorrow.

Meanwhile … the weather is gorgeous with sunshine, blue sky and mid-60F temperatures.

Terrific Thursday: lovely new mattress and logging operations at my little spot in the woods.

Several years ago, I transitioned from 100% paper towel to using flour cloth towels with paper towels as a “super messy” back up option.

Convenience-wise paper towels win, but landfill-wise the cloth towels win … and as I have transitioned to 14-21 days between shopping trips (COVID-19) … cloth towels win BIG!

BUT. The cloth towels must be washed, dried and … FOLDED :( … not my favorite chore. And as a side note, since I also transitioned to a bidet attachment on my commode which entails baby wash clothes for drying … there are those bity things to wash/dry/fold as well.

So, somewhat bi-weekly I am washing/drying/folding flour cloth towels or baby wash cloths. It is always a pile of cloth things to be folded.

It sometimes seem a bit daunting in the day to day must do things …

BUT, one thing at a time and all is done!

One thing at a time. One towel, one task …

Washing the motorhome! One bit at a time.

My plan … a bit at a time and then “MUCH more difficult than I thought” … and a call to the firm that helped me 2 years ago … BUT, then that person injured and …

Anyway, I finished all myself.

But, it was a little bit, day by day, over 7 days, i.e. one thing at a time.

Last week, I happened on this YouTube…

There are so many life lessons in this video!!

If I had to summarize the best things (life lessons) from this video:

When you are making such a big change, do look at the bigger picture …

But in order to actually do it, you need to take tiny baby steps

Break it down into manageable chunks

If I thought about how much work, coordination and money would have come into this …

But once I broke it into small chunks

And got help with certain things

It was doable

Doable!!

One thing at a time is doable.

Whether it is folding a pile of towels, cleaning a motorhome, learning video editing or learning French or whatever!!!

One thing at a time.

OR … GETTING. THROUGH.A.PANDEMIC :)

Yep, one thing at a time.

At my house, Emmett and I are focused on loving time together, loving time outside, loving Autumn light and just enjoying being alive and being healthy. I know all of that can change in a moment so I choose to live in the present moment of good health and good times.

Lovely Autumn color from a Friday Kalispell errand spot.

Lovely, lovely Autumn light and vibes … and one thing at a time.

Onward!