into the woods

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We went for a drive on Sunday to look at that property that I want. After driving for about an hour over dirt roads, we found the place, or near enough to it. I'd packed a picinic lunch and Carl put out a blanket. Keith had his old hunting dog, Candy.

"Bear shit," he said, kicking at it, as we spread out the blanket and I started handing out sandwiches. "Old stuff." He stared off into the woods. "Guess I'll go look around."

Jareth began to fuss, but Crystalyn had some pureed bananas, so I gave her a break and fed him while I munched my ham and cheese. We were in a clearing, and I tried to catalog some of the plants -- mostly hardwoods - maple, beech, birch, and hazelnut with a lot of low blueberry along the road and edges, raspberry, blackberry, vetch, beech fern, and grasses. Good soil, rich and well drained.

Carl pulled up some ferns and we used them to swat flies away -- they were the little, shiny black kind that bite. Then Jareth was done with his bananas and fussed again while I made a bottle. (Crystalyn nurses and bottle feeds, both.)

Seth was tripsing around the blanket, munching on his sandwich, swishing at the flies with his fern. It was a very lovely day.

Then Keith came raring back up the clearing, eyes big. "Come on! Up! Up! Everybody in the car! Pack that baby up!"

He didn't say it, but his eyes said BEAR. So we all pretty much TARDISed ourselves into the cars. I've never seen a group of people move babies, blankets, and a hamper so efficiently. We went from picnicking to sitting in cars in about five seconds.

Once the kids were in the cars, Keith relaxed. He stood next to Carl's window. "Yeah, I saw some real fresh shit right down there," he pointed, "and then, about a yard away, a big track. And right next to it, a little baby track." He swiped off his Nascar baseball cap and swiped at the flies. "Then your baby started to cry, and well, that'll bring a mama bear right up, hey?"

The only thing that makes me pause about the property is that it's only about 2 miles as the crow flies from the edge of the Kinnecott Mine property. There's a ridge running between, but I don't know how the mine will effect this property's water.

When I asked him what he thought about it, Keith shrugged. "I dunno about water, but I know that mine operation is gonna leave a lot of salvage behind. It's only supposed to opperate for, what, ten years? They're here for a stab-n-grab. They'll leave a lot behind."

That night, we collectively picked off four ticks. I got two!