Serendipity

I used this photo from the web because the bear looks like it's laughing! In light of the rising frequency of human - grizzly bear conflicts, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert of bears while in the field.  They  advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them.  They also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear.  It is also a  good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear dung. Black bear dung is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear dung has little bells in it and smells like pepper. :) Have a great day and share a smile! Deb

deer I photographed last Oct. 2011 (Every now and then, I come across an email that is just too good not to share. This is one of them.........) This is a very well written, hilarious story about an attempt to lasso a deer.  Why we shoot deer in the wild (A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this) I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. I filled the cattle feeder the...