It went too quickly.
But it was chock full of special moments. One night, as we watched a movie to finish out the day, I caught my first glimpse of a firefly through the sliding glass doors.
There are no fireflies in England, so Cara immediately got up to go see. When she opened the door, one came straightaway inside to do lazy loops around the livingroom and kitchen, blinking on, blinking off.
The last Saturday of her visit, we arranged to meet her brother and the girls at the halfway point between our house and theirs, meaning they drove 2.5 hours west. We drove 2.5 hours east. We ended up at Bald Eagle state park. It was too chilly to spend a lot of time on the wonderful beach, but they had a great playground. We had a great cookout. We hiked the butterfly trail (there were frog eggs).
In an amazing coincidence, they had nature activities for the kids. They had booths set up to teach them how to cast a fishing rod and to identify fish. There was a woodcarver's display for bird identification. Another display of taxidermied birds to learn amazing bird facts. Native plants and seeds to give away. A chainsaw carver. A display of tanned animal hides for the kids to handle.
Probably the most exciting thing was the 'nuisance bear'. He was trapped in a culvert bear trap. You can google this. I tried to post a picture, but cannot. It is baited with donuts. The bear walks in, the door closes behind him.
The trap is hooked to a truck and hauled away. The bear is sedated. While the donut filled bear snoozes, he is tagged, a tooth pulled to determine his age, and a vial of blood taken to do a health screen. He is driven far out into the woods and released, hopefully never to return to populated areas again.
The sedated bear slept right through the demonstration he was starring in. He continued to sleep as the most daring children petted him. When he showed signs of waking up, the door to the trap was closed and he was driven away to his new home.
So this was A. Very. Exciting. Day. My daughter in law had to work the previous night so she wasn't there. I made a joke about 'mama bear' would never put us in charge of her cubs again once she heard her 'baby' had petted a bear. My son was sure she already knew, probably awakened from a sound sleep by 'a disturbance in the force'.
There were cookouts and easy laughter, sunny days and starry nights. Memories dusted off and related once again.
And then it was time to drop her off at the airport.
No doubt the time went very quickly. Is it time for you to long plan another trip to England?
ReplyDeleteThe bear business sounds very interesting. I think crocodiles here that venture near towns are similarly dealt with, although I am not sure about sedation.
We had intended to go this summer, but she has a new job, and it is an inconvenient time.
DeleteWow! A bear at a school demonstration! Glad you saw some fireflies. I hadn't seen any in several years, and saw a couple last year. Last week I saw 4-5 out in the yard! How cool that one visited your house. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteThey are all over the place here.
DeleteGoodness, what a great day out! Bear stroking :) Bet you never thought that would happen - a bit like me stroking an eel in Christchurch zoo in NZ! Your mention of Fireflies takes me back nearly 30 years to when we used to stay with our Yorkshire friends Bryan and Mary in Dorset, and we would walk their Old English Sheepdog Tess along the old abandoned railway line, marvelling at the Fireflies.
ReplyDeleteGood memories made together
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that there are no fireflies in UK......not sure what Bovey Belle saw, but might have been glow worms, which apparently we do have, but I have never seen one!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous time, but then you had to part and go your separate ways — for now.
ReplyDelete'For now' is key.
DeleteYou made some wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a wonderful time. Great memories.
ReplyDeleteDitto what everyone else said, but I do enjoy reading about your visit including bear touching!
ReplyDeleteThe Force! Good one, and so very likely. -Kate
ReplyDeleteHe comes up with some of the funniest quips. Once someone got a sudden cramp in their foot. He looked over and said, "I did that with my mind..."
DeleteHappy memories to keep!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe they let anyone touch the bear, no matter how well sedated it was. But, for the kids' sake, it's pretty cool they did!
ReplyDeleteY'all did it right, I do believe, when it came to celebration.
My daughter was quite convinced that this activity was not signed off on by the higher ups.
DeleteWhat an awesome experience for kids even if it meant a five hour drive.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful week for your family. I know there were lots of hugs, good memories and a few tears. I enjoyed this week you let me in on. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteExcellent visit! You and the family know how to congregate.
ReplyDeleteA firefly loop-de-looping through the house is pure summer perfection, but a sedated bear fueled by donuts? That is next-level state park entertainment! Your joke about "mama bear" and the cubs petting a literal bear completely cracked me up—and your son is probably right about that disturbance in the force! It sounds like a trip chock-full of easy laughter and perfect memories. Safe travels to Cara on her way back to firefly-less England.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness -what a FABULOUS day! How wonderful you visited when all those activities were going on! Petting a bear? Oh my gosh - once in a lifetime. They will never ever forget these adventures!!! This so awesome!!
ReplyDeleteWow! That is really a memorable experience. I wish you had a photo of the bear too.
ReplyDeleteGosh! I haven't seen a firefly since we left Illinois and even then you didn't see them all the time.
I cannot post pictures of my granddaughters or use their names.
DeleteLifetime memories for the kids. Gigi
ReplyDeleteI do miss the fireflies, living here in England. I used to love seeing them when we lived in New Jersey. (They were hard to photograph, though!)
ReplyDeleteThat bear experience sounds WILD (no pun intended). I would think a bear transported even far away would simply return to its home turf, though it might take a while.
Debby, at least one of the links on your profile page, Nanny Goats in Panties, is linking to a site that is almost certainly malicious. You might want to remove it ASAP. You can check if any others are malicious by click-and-hold and see where it will go — just don’t release your mouse button. If anyone clicks a malicious link, here are steps you should take: https://us.norton.com/blog/online-scams/i-clicked-on-a-phishing-link
ReplyDeleteAll good things, even the poor bear! I laughed about the donuts. That is just funny. We once passed a truck hauling a bear in one of those traps.
ReplyDeleteIn Charleston this weekend, the cops shot and killed a bear. People are outraged. There was no need to kill him.