Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Thursday’s Thoughts #15.
Good morning everyone! It’s a cool, windy morning here today, but there is a little blue sky here and there so we might get to see the sun today. But it’s going to stay cool with a high of only 66F (19C) today. That’s definitely fall temperatures, but we are supposed to warm up on the weekend. I finally got a picture of a gray treefrog! That may not sound too exciting, but I have been trying for 3 years now and these frogs are quite interesting. They live high in trees normally, which makes it hard to get a picture of them. Plus they can change color, depending on their background, and around here we mostly see them when they are a bright green. When gray they kind of look like a stone, or tree bark and they can also take on a brown color. Next will be to find a green one for a picture.
Speaking of chipmunks. They were very busy yesterday, gathering peanuts and sunflower seeds, plus running around “playing” with each other. They have to keep in shape for whenever Slim shows up, like this morning. Skamper was getting some sunflower seeds and Slim showed up. Skamper ran for one of the boxes, with Slim right behind him. Skamper made it through the box just fine, but Slim had to make a tight turn, and slammed into the side of the box instead of going through the door. But he kept going, however Skamper was long gone, so he came back right away. Yesterday afternoon I went to put out some more peanuts for their afternoon feeding.
I decided to spread the peanuts out more so there would be less fighting among the chipmunks. Muffin was there so I had to watch her, plus I always keep my eyes looking down for any speedy chipmunks who might want to come inside while the door is open. I opened the door wider than usual so I could spread the peanuts out better, stuck my hand out with the cup of peanuts and…my hand wasn’t more than a foot away from the bear’s nose who was standing there looking right at me. Muffin ran to hide. I was so shocked by this, I just pulled my hand back inside and slammed the door so fast! Not that a screen door is much of a barrier to stop a bear.
But slamming the door scared the bear and he trotted off the deck and disappeared around the side of the house. That was right at 2pm. So, let me see now…it’s not safe to walk to the river due to bears, it’s not safe to be at home due to bears. That doesn’t leave a lot of choices. I think that bear was as shocked as me though, which is why he just stood there. Surprising I never saw it, but I was too much concentrating on chipmunks and Muffin. Note to me, look around before opening door. Or I could buy a bunch of food and lock myself inside until winter. But I do need to go out and walk, bears or not. It’s going to be an interesting fall. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
It must have been Yogi the bear!!😂😂
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That frog looks more like a toad. Great photo btw
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It does, but it is a frog. When it turns green it really looks more frog like. Thanks so much!
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Do you see northren Spring peepers frogs ?
They seem tolerant of cold weather …
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Yes, the spring peepers are quite abundant around here. Actually frogs and toads in general seemed to be quite abundant which was nice to see. And hear!
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I think it’s more the shape rather than its colour
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It’s whole texture changes when the color changes, so it’s quite smooth looking. In the pic it’s also in it’s sleeping position making him look fatter. Actually I’m sure this one is a female, males are smaller.
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I think you need new glasses ! Steve, that is so scary ! A bear ? 🐻 have your ears checked as well ! We want you around for a long time yet ! Muffin would agree ! …that frog looks like a rock ! Wow ! Take care ! ☕️☕️🙂😺🐦🐸
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I explained why I didn’t notice the bear right away, too many other things around to watch, and he is taller than the chipmunks so I wasn’t looking that high up. My ears are just fine, but he was just standing, no noise from him. I can’t do anything about the bears, unfortunately, so I will have to put up with having them around I guess. I need to go out, I need to walk, can’t stay locked inside. Thanks for your concern though, just nothing can be done about the problem.😳😕🙀🐻🐸
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I was like, what a weird stone? then, look again! omg! it’s a frog…. 😳 did I see a frog 😳😅😂 nice pose though 😁🤪 and I know the name, it’s basically called Mushroom 😁🤣😅😂. oh! these bears 😳🙄 why did they come again 😈 you should be careful, I know you won’t, just saying 😅 glad the bear ran away. Go for a walk, but make sure you are doing in broad daylight and you can clearly see there is no bear around 😉 use binoculars 🧐 Stay safe 🤗🤗
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Yep, it is an interesting little frog and so hard to get a picture of them sometimes.📷 It’s fun watching them walk up walls with the little suction cups on their toes!😂😹 Bears are really bad all over town right now.🐻 They have posted a town wide warning about the bears now.😬🐻🙀 It’s bad they are coming into town so early, and mostly they are not scared of people which is bad.😲🐻 Yep, I need to go walking, it’s important,🚶♂️ but there is just so many bears now and they are around any time of the day which makes it hard.🐻🤯 Have a good evening Simon!😁🌙😴
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they dont have gun ? to scare them away ? 😳🤔😮 it’s fun to watch these frogs grow, it will look cute upto a limit, then it gets weird 😂 nature at its best 😉 maybe you should try the classic bear hunting costume.. you know? the one with spikes 😁 but, on a serious note, check their schedule, and go for walk accordingly, at least near drive way or varanda is still a good place to walk 😇
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I have seen the bears all hours of the day, even on the driveway in the morning, afternoon and evening.😬🐻 There are at least 3 different bears that come around and they come at different times,🤯🐻🐻🐻 probably so they don’t meet each other and fight.🙄 I wish they had a schedule, that would make things easier.😁 I just have to take a chance and hope I don’t meet the bear.😬🙀😲 Sigh. This is the worst year we have had in about 20 years.🤪🤯 Maybe if I wrap myself in tires?😂 It would make me look bigger,😃 they might leave me alone then. Hmm…🤔🙄
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wow – that was such a close call with the bear! and nice job getting a picture of the gray treefrog!
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Yes, too close, I must remember to look all over before opening that door! He obviously wasn’t too scared. They have put out warnings all over town now because so many bears are coming in to look for food early this year.
Thanks Jim, that gray treefrog was a nice one!
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well hopefully evreybody stays safe until it is time for the bears to hibernate…
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Yes, people are usually quite careful when the bears are in town. But some people like to take chances.😬🐻
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I don’t think I’d leave the house!
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That’s one way to do it. Off I go for my driveway walk.😀🚶♂️
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I like that you’re trying to get some walking in!
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Yes, I need to walk every day and right now the driveway seems like the safest place. It’s 100 feet long so easy to measure my walking. There’s probably some app I could use as well to measure the distance.
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I like your dedication to your walking!
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Well, it’s basically like this, the way my health is right now, if I don’t keep walking, by spring I may not be walking at all. Which is why the walk to the river is actually so important. But right now, I’m just not sure if I should or not.
Thanks Jim!
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then yes, by all means keep up that walking!
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Yes indeed, having that thought in mind is a good incentive to keep walking.
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👍
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