Thursday, September 1, 2016

FRIDAY HUNT

For the first time I am linking with Teresa's Friday's Hunt.  It can be found at her blog Eden Hills and starts each Friday at 7.00 p.m. central time and stays open until Sunday at 7.00 p.m. central time.  You can read all about the meme here.

Her prompts this week are
Starts with J
Week's  Favorite 
Surprise



Starts with J: Junco


Week's favorite: A Common Buckeye Butterfly


My third 'Surprise' has no photo as it is just retelling an experience I had a couple of weeks' ago.  We were going on a ride along Skyline Drive and had not seen too many animals.  None at all in fact.  We were looking for anything really but our expectations were low, and the lovely surroundings and those gorgeous views keep us happy. We occasionally see deer but for animal sightings, we felt we were at the wrong time of the day and didn't expect to see anything. We decided to turn the car around not too far after the noon hour.  

If you have traveled along Skyline Drive you will know that the roads are very narrow and winding, so you can't go very fast, a little more than a crawl in parts.  We always take care in case anything jumps out onto the road.  It has happened and on one occasion a few years ago, we had parked the car and I was walking ahead to Big Meadow.  Suddenly a young doe came running down from the picnic area in my direction, and she was heading towards the road at a high rate of speed.  As quickly as I saw the deer I was able to stop a car by waving it down, pointing in the direction of the approaching deer.  The cars behind it also stopped of course, windows wound down and cameras appeared.   Seconds later the doe ran in front of them, but by this time she was at a full gallop and making her way down the hillside, rapidly becoming a speck in the distance.  Everyone was smiling as I waved them on, the coast was clear.  And yes this was a surprise as I didn't expect to be the new temporary crossing guard for the park service.  

To get to our more recent surprise, we were making our way towards one of the park's exits. Hubby was driving and I was in the passenger seat. I must have noticed something as I looked to my right, and there on the edge of the road was the most beautiful black bear, not ten feet away from the car.  He seemed to be a young one, maybe two years old.  Our eyes literally locked for a few seconds.  We were a hundred yards further along before I was able to vocalize what I had seen.  I was so surprised.  At first I asked hubby to turn around but there really was no way we could do that.  Just as well with all the bear stories in the news lately.  One can never be too careful.  They need their space.  As hubby looked in the rear view mirror and I craned my neck backwards, we saw the young bear make its way safely across the road and away into the trees.  It was quite a surprise, one we don't get to see hardly ever and we have been driving up to Skyline Drive for the last 25 years, ever since we moved back to Virginia.  We consider these sightings a gift.



15 comments:

  1. Wow. I would be buzzing on a bear sighting for days. And days.

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  2. Loved reading about the deer and the bear. You never know what you are going to see on the Skyline Drive. You Junko picture is wonderful and the butterfly is beautiful. Had fun reading your stories. genie

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  3. ...and I like your first photo of the plucky little junco...not loud and brassy...just an honest little critter. Do I like Juncoes? You bet.

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  4. Lovely photos, Denise, and the Junco is amazing! :)

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  5. Wow, I've nevers seen a bear in free!
    Cute junco...
    (I would play with Teresa's Friday's Hunt too, when I have more time for blogging - )

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  6. How wonderful to seea wild bear so close. I love both your surprise stories.

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  7. I am a tad jealous over your two surprises, since I would love to have seen either or both of them. wow a bear. I have never seen one in the wild. of course that could be because I am never IN the wild.. that butterfly is just stunning

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  8. Great post. I bet you were surprised to see the bear, I would have been speechless too...and your Junco is so cute and your butterfly was truly posing for you!

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  9. Bears are a delight to see, even if it's a momentary glance. As long as they're moving off, and people give them their space, they're fine.

    Juncos we tend to only see in winter- they're probably around all year, but they're more visible because of coming to feeders.

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  10. Glad you kept the deer and cars safe. Love juncos! Nice butterfly shot.

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  11. What a wonderful day you had on your Skyline Drive. I agree, they were gifts to behold.

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  12. Loved your bear surprise! And the doe surprise! It's such a beautiful drive, with so many awesome things to see. I love it there so much! Loved your junco too. Thanks so much for your sweet comment on my recent post. I would LOVE to get to meet you when we get back to Virginia, and have you meet Mom too. That would be really amazing! It's so sweet of you to say you want to do that.

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  13. That would be an amazing surprise! I'm not sure I've ever seen a black bear. Love the creative image you shared with the buckeye. It's a nice edit to the photo. That's the second junco this week! Popular bird. I'm so glad to have you join in the fun. Thanks so much for joining me for Friday's Hunt. Hope you have a great week!

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  14. Any sighting of a bear is a wonderful encounter with nature.

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