How fast can a Bear run?

They can run very fast.





Got your attention?

Well, he sure got ours. We were having dinner with some friends this last week. We had been talking about bears when one of our guests looked up and said " Speaking of BEARS."

Sure enough this young bear, maybe a year old, came in the driveway and was heading right towards the house at a fairly good clip. I jumped up to get the camera and Gary headed outside. He didn't want the critter tearing anything up. I'm not so sure of the wisdom of that move but Gary is still here and the bear isn't. Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera the bear heard Gary and took off but he didn't exit by way of the driveway. He took a more interesting route down the hill and over the fence. He was sort of a cinnamon color with long legs. The attached photo was taken by our neighbors. He sure added to the dinner conversation. This is the first bear we have seen but I suspect not the last.
This is our temporary gate. We had moved the cars when our dinner guests arrived which cleared the way for the bear. Surprisingly this actually appears to have deterred the deer which is why we have a fence in the first place. In this area you have to decide; do you want a natural yard with all the local flora and fauna or do you want a vegetable garden and plants. We opted for the second choice.

We have been pretty busy working on the landscaping the last month or so. Here we have Mr. Hill a.k.a. Limo Man preparing to pull wire for the gate. Now what are the fireplace tools for?

Improvisation is key around here.

And now stories from the Limo man.

May was a very busy month for the Limo man. There were lots of Proms, birthdays, and wine tours. Service was provided throughout the Southern Oregon area including Klamath Falls, Grants Pass and Ashland. The visit to Klamath Falls was interesting but the town hasn't changed much in the 30 years since the Limo man was last there. The high mountain lakes enroute to K'Falls will be a draw for another day.

Casey's new Limo has been the talk of the town. He bought a Chrysler 300 on Ebay from a private owner in Georgia. Needless to say he spent 4 days driving getting it back to Oregon.

It is quite amazing how much money kids have to spend on a Limo. For Prom night it may cost $700 for the largest limo, then add on dinner, flowers, and tux rental plus a new dress for the gal.

It didn't take long for Casey's new car to get indoctrinated. A middle age dude was taking his girl friend out to dinner so Casey decided to give him an upgrade. The night started out fine as the dinner was out in the beautiful Applegate Valley at the Applegate Lodge. After dinner the couple wanted to go to Jacksonville and then on to Grants Pass. They stopped at a local bar but didn't stay. Once back in the car the couple wanted to just drive around Grants Pass and then back to Medford. Once on the freeway the car started to bounce up and down and sideways a bit. Needless to say the limo man had figured out what was going on. Casey got to clean the car the next day.

The following weekend Gary picked up a group of women and there significant others for lunch in Ashland and a wine tour. They were all a pleasant group but the connection for all of them was a bit odd. The women belong to a club where they practice pole dancing to stay in shape. I guess this is a new thing in Medford.

Last weekend a group of 10 were celebrating someone's 40th birhtday. I had two pick up spots and then out to the Bel Di's restaurant on the Rogue River in Shady Cove. They drank significant amounts of beer and wine in the car on the way out. After dinner I noticed that one women was especially drunk so I felt it was necessary to warn them about the $300 charge for puking in the car. The drunk women and her husband decided they needed to go home ASAP.

We headed for Jacksonville. As I approached their driveway I came upon a gate. Someone said that he would open it as I was approaching. Before I completely stopped the gentlemen got out of the car. I did not notice as all the dome lights were on really bright. The next thing I know after I stopped the car is that someone said the car was on the gentlemen's foot. I ran back to see what was going on but never got there as someone else said to back up 2 inches. Evidently the guy's foot was stuck under the tire. We got him up and he proceeded to walk over to the gate control to open it up. I was very relieved to see him walk again. I have't heard from him so I guess he is okay. From now on we are going to keep the child locks on for all the folks that do not know when to get out of the car.

After dropping them off I thought I was done but then I had to take the baby sitter home. A couple of the women accompanied me. After I dropped the sitter off one of the women said. "Gary, I have to go to the bathroom" Too much beer! I said I could go to a gas station about 5 minutes away. That wasn't good enough. "I have to go right now. Gary, what should I do? Can I go outside the car? What do you think? Help me. Help me" There was panic in this women's voice but I wasn't sure she was the type to drop trow in the woods let alone on a city street. It came upon her really fast and I could tell she wasn't going to wait. There was fire in her eyes, mother nature was taking over and her voice was starting to crack. Casey never told me about this type of thing and I have never had training in this area. I got out of the car with the women and showed her a nice spot on someones lawn that would work, then I got back in the car. She got back in the car and asked her friend where I was, like I was still outside the car watching.

NO Thanks!

What a night!

One thing I have learned. Every group is different and you have to be flexible and improvise along the way.

click on photo to enlarge

The lawn is still coming in and the big question was do we get a riding mower or walk behind? We decided to get the walk behind as we can always use more exercise.

Our little creek is teaming with life that can clear the fence. These guys make a huge noise for being only about and inch long.

We know we have been lazy about doing the blog. As you can see - things are hopping around here!