A Bear encounter on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway!

 

Finally!!! After over 12 years and hundreds of hikes 

on the Florida Greenway, I have a bear story!

And yes, I've seen bears over the years. I've been fortunate to hike in a lot of forests in the US, including Alaska. I've even seen them in the Ocala National Forest from my vehicle.

But this story takes place on one of my favorite Florida trails close to home.

I parked my Jeep at the trailhead and started off on a hike/bike trail until I got to the paved part of the Greenway. I planned to hike for one hour, which is a short hike for me. It's very hard for me to turn around at the 30 minute mark but I did this particular day.

This is the first photo I took by just lifting my camera and snapping without zooming. So he is in the far distance and you can get an idea of how far away he was.

The bear walked across the trail I was on and was ambling.

I was walking parallel to a firebreak. (a wide path that is dug up by heavy equipment to form a break that would stop a forest fire from spreading) 

So I took a few steps to my right onto the firebreak so that I had a better view when he went across the firebreak.

And there he was. 

He did not turn....and he did not look at me, so I didn't feel threatened.

I was scared of course and saw a spike in my heart rate on my watch! 

But he kept going and I stood perfectly still. I wanted to make sure there weren't any cubs following or another bear. And when a few minutes went by, I called my husband. I told him there was a bear between me and my Jeep and he said loudly 'A WHAT?'!!! I think that was one of the best parts of the story.  He told me to wait awhile longer and give the bear a chance to get farther away before I walked to the Jeep. I was never so glad to get in my Jeep and 'head for the house'! 

To describe how I felt....

I would say I was scared and excited and JAZZED! 

But having said that....I'm happy to have seen a Florida black bear in the wild right on the Greenway. But I'm done now. I don't need to see another one! I'm a happy hiker and a blessed one too. 

So that's my bear story. It was a medium sized bear. I know they get bigger ....and mine may get bigger in the telling. We'll see!

I saw a Downy Woodpecker on the hike.

And lots of beautiful wildflowers.

But I was so fortunate to actually get a few decent photos

 

of the HUMONGOUS bear I saw!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

  and Mosaic Monday HERE. 

Just for fun!

 The cloud formations have been beautiful this week.

What do you see? 

I'll leave my scary banner up one more day to explain how it is really a collage, or mosaic!

"You are in Bear Country"

It started with a sign at the 49th Ave Trailhead, that cautions hikers of the bear activity in the area. And yes, several people have stopped to tell us they saw a bear. But we haven't seen one....yet! 

I took that sign and put a cropped photo of a tree on each side to create a collage. And then put the 'BOO' on it. Were you scared? Just a little? Tell the truth now! Which would scare you most, a bear or an alligator? We see alligators pretty often so I think a bear sighting would scare me more!

And I got some new Wet cloths this week. They have a good sale going on and they even sent me a free one. The link is HERE.

It looks like a little mosaic, doesn't it?

I also ordered some beautiful cards with original art from an Etsy shop HERE.

And I decided to cut some paper and sew it into one of them to create a journal.

 This is my favorite so I'll just have the bunny I made a long time ago, hold it for me!

 Do you love Etsy shopping too? 

Do you have some favorites this week to share?

I'm joining Angie for Mosaic Monday HERE . 

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too!

***One World - One Heart Giveaway***

I am so excited to be a part of the
One World - One Heart Giveaway this year.
I've had so much fun meeting bloggers the past few months and
I am hoping to meet even more with this fun event!

I have found so much in common with so many
bloggers around the world!
I love to travel, decorate my home and make all sorts of crafts.
I collect dolls and children's books and love to find vintage treasures.

My giveaway is open to all active bloggers.
The giveaway is open until February 11th and the winner
will be chosen and announced on February 12th.

Please leave a comment on this post for a chance to win!
(with a way for me to contact you when you win!)

Click on the logo at the top of this post to get to the event blog to see
all the other participants in this event and
for info if you want to become one yourself!

So now..........I have a sweet furry bear all ready for adoption!


He has been handmade by ME ... waiting to be named by his new family!














He's a nice BIG bear! Bigger than Wendy!


(Bear only! Wendy not included! heehee!)
(This bear is a collectible, not a child's toy)

Thanks for entering! I love making new friends!

Something on my ‘Wish list’!

I’ve wanted a soft cuddly teddy bear made out of an old quilt for a long time. I’ve spent a lot of time looking for one on Etsy but the few I’ve found were out of my price range.

Well, I had an old quilt and a book of teddy bear patterns. But I had to have the courage to CUT the old quilt.

I don’t know why but it was very difficult to cut it even though it was raggedy and not even good enough to fold and display. (it was in a zipper bag under my bed) So I talked it over with a friend and this is what she said, “That old quilt would have more life as a teddy bear than being stored in a bag. JUST DO IT! Save all the little pieces that are left and I'm sure you'll find new uses for them too.” Sherry from Back 2 Vintage

So I listened…and I CUT!

And now I’m so glad I did!

Thanks Sherry!

Meet my cuddly snuggly teddy bear made out of a quilt I’ve had all of my life.

(he has 2 hearts around his neck now)

I’m joining the Vintage Inspiration Link party HERE,

Ivy and Elephants HERE

Vintage Bliss Tuesdays HERE

and Tweak it Tuesday!

Also Let’s Talk Vintage HERE!

Something I’ve always wanted.

Mark it off the wish list!

Revenge “Wednesday Wee Ones”

We all remember last week when we left Mellie wondering if the kittens were tickling Mr. Bear and if Mr. Bear was actually enjoying it. (she was also wondering if anyone was ever going change her out of a Christmas outfit lol)

Well, things seemed to be fine for a day or two.

(everyone getting along so well)

And then THIS!

I took everything off the sofa to change the pillows for Spring and vacuum the sofa.

I left the room for only TWO minutes to check my emails

and maybe visit one or two of my favorite blogs….just a few minutes at the most.

And this is what I came back to.

SHOCKING I KNOW!

Mr. Bear gets revenge.

TERROR!!! Plain and simple.

There’s no denying it.

Baby kitty couldn’t get away!

And I’m on the computer writing just one more comment! (sad I know)

To be continued on Wednesday……

And don’t forget

TAKE TIME TO PLAY!!!

UPDATE…before I get too much credit for all this fun…I moved the kitties and got the vacuum cleaner out and left the room. The OTHER big kid that lives here did the rest!

Miss Bee, Miss Vee and then there were Three!

I finished 3 bunnies and still need to make an outfit for my bear. (I’m using the same bunny pattern with the bear except his head is rounder, and so are his ears.)

I named this sweet bear, Miss Vee.

Look at the tiny Valentine in her handbag!

And this one is Rose.

I made lots of pretty ruffles for her dress and she has some Spring birds to hold.

And then there were three!

I can’t help but think of some of my favorite bloggers when I choose pretty names.

And speaking of Vee, be sure and visit her today HERE for the Downton Abbey discussion.

We splurged and bought the DVDs for this season but I won’t give away any ‘endings’!

It’s beautiful here this week.

Do you have something fun planned for the day?

Slow down, You might miss something!

 

Slow down? I don't think anyone has actually said that to me lately.

Common Buckeye Butterfly

Lizard on a log

Grasshopper in the pine needles

Hoverfly in the sky

They 'hover' and stay so still that if you can get your camera to focus on them, you can get a photo!

I walk at a pretty slow pace and I stop and look around at odd times.

Armadillo

It's amazing how many times I've stopped to get a drink of water and noticed something interesting in the forest.

Or if my battery gets low on my camera and I have to change it, that's a sure way to have wildlife saunter by.

One day we were hiking near Shangri-la and a bike rider stopped to say he had pulled out some crackers to have a snack and a bear poked his nose out from behind the tree. We asked him where and he pointed to a spot close by. And no....I don't think he stayed long enough to share his crackers with the bear.

Anyway, I thought I would find those photos of the small things we see when we are hiking that often get left out of a post.

Bear Scat (poop...not zoomed in!)

You may WISH I had left out more! hahaha!

 

Someone dropped their walking stick in the forest. I hope they came back to get it!

Happy Hiking! It's just a walk in the forest!

 A chance to get out in nature and enjoy the scenery...watch where you walk!

And enjoy your day!

I'm joining Mosaic Monday HERE 

and I like Thursdays HERE !