We Saw a Bear on Highway 65

It sounds like I've been reading too many Sugar Creek Gang books. 
         Maybe I can ramble on for a few pages in Paul Hutchens style. 

Mom, Krysta and I were driving south on hwy 65 on a bright Monday morning. 
Lupines and Indian Paintbrush were growing at the edge of the road.  Cattails in the
ditches looked like lightly roasted marshmallows on a stick.  The flower beds in the yards
we passed were breathtaking.  Our road wound around through forests of pine trees. 
Now and then fields opened up on either side.  We had just come to more trees when we
saw a black bear sprint out of the woods and bound across the road ahead of us.  By the time
we got to the spot there was no sign of the bear, not even a bush swishing back into place.


We had just been to Janine's house for coffee and muffins and warm conversation
with Ladina and Trenda and Mandy joining us.  Stories of days gone by came up when
Ladina, Trenda, Maria and I were little girls.  Hans, our younger brother, wasn't here yet
to share our escapades.


We talked about the trip by boat to the Angle.  The boat was a ferry and had a
gigantic steering wheel.   I remember the pilot let us steer.  Summer vacations
at the Angle reminded me of stories of bears at the dump.  We were told that bears
came to the dump.  If you sat very quietly in your car at dusk you could watch them
digging for food. 

It never worked for us. 

Summer after summer went by and we never saw any bears. 
After the road to the Angle was finished we drove in our car. 
There was always the excitement of crossing the Canadian border
and listening to Dad answer the questions the border patrol asked.

"Where are you going?" 

"How long were you at the Angle?"

One evening the man leaned in the window
          and looked in the back seat
                at all of us girls sitting in a row. 

"Did you see any bears?" he asked in a gruff voice.
We shook our heads, too petrified to say a word.

As Dad drove away we breathed sighs of relief and asked him,
"What would've he done to us if we had seen some bears?"
Dad chuckled and told us not to worry.  The man at the border
was just brightening up a boring, mundane day at his job.
                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Today, July 9th, 2015 would have been my Dad's 76th birthday.
Mom is visiting Dad's siblings in Idaho.  I'm sure they are sitting around the table
drinking coffee and sharing lots of memories.

Krysta and I tried to come up with something different for Father's Day this year. 
We ordered flowers out of a catalog for our shade gardens. 
I found some new flowers - Bear's Breeches.  We ordered them for Mom to plant
in her garden close to the Dutchman's Britches that come up each spring.

We chose thornless blackberry plants for Ellis. 
They will need a spot in the sun and one of these days we'll be baking blackberry pies.

Each day is filled to the brim with new adventures.
Those adventures turn into stories to one day be shared around a kitchen table
with family and friends.

Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat

Friends of the Library getting ready for the 4th of July Parade

After the parade Curious George is tired!

                                               Clifford, the little red dog, is taking a nap.