Bears!!! Part III

Saturday, 10 March 2012

Rosy Finch's Den

Saturday was the day the masses came. Hal is very accommodating and each year invites people to join in on an easy-to-access den site. Rosy Finch's den was located up East Canyon right off the main dirt road and had been previously chosen for the crowds. Hal and Larisa stayed behind to talk to the group (150+ guests including students from BYU, scout groups, church groups, friends, family, and other random people) while Josh, Randy, Janene, Ian, and I went ahead to locate the den and tranquilize the bear(s).

Unfortunately, Rosy Finch was sitting outside her den when we approached. Even though we were quiet, she ran away, possibly with one of her yearlings (she was supposed to have 2 yearlings with her). Fortunately for the masses of people waiting to see a bear, Millie Jane (the other the yearling) was still inside the den. We tranquilized her and pulled her out once she was asleep.

 Ian helped put in ear tags.

Sweet little yearling with her new "earrings"!

Ian sitting in the nest in the den

April & Ian with Millie Jane

Bear Denning Fever can be catchy!

This is Julie M. She is a relatively new graduate student studying den emergence behavior. She puts trail cameras aiming at the den openings in order to record when the bears and their young leave the den. She had some great photos from last year's dens and was collecting another year's worth. I think she had cameras on 18-20 den sites throughout Utah.

Once we were finished working the yearling, the masses hiked up to see her. 

It took about 2 hours for everyone to file by and take photos.

Lisa & Lex (Hal's son) and Lisa's father

 Bear Crew Old & New:

Larisa, Hal, Janene, April, Josh, & Julie

Hal said Ian is the Bear Project's future.

If we train him well, he can take over in a few more years!

Bears!!! Part II

  Friday, 9 March 2012

 Maytag's Den 

Early the following morning, we drove up Dark Canyon to this snow-covered road to embark on a "hike" to Maytag's den. This was the easiest den ever, with the "hike" being less than 1/4 mile. It was just over the edge on the left of the photo below.

Once we went over the edge, the terrain was rather steep.



Ian watched as Larisa tranquilized Maytag.
We could hear cubs squalling!



After 15 minutes, Maytag was asleep and Hal gave Ian 
the honor of crawling into the den 
and pulling out the cubs!!!

[We have video footage of it, but can't get it to upload on Blogger.]

Ian was thrilled, to say the least!
There were 2 cubs, one male and one female.



Their eyes hadn't opened yet and
they were still pretty small.









Maytag asleep in her nest



The entrance to the den--yes, it is blocked by a large immovable rock on the left.



Josh, Eliza, and Mari H. and a cub



 Lynnette and Janene with the cubs



Back at the ranch...
Ian relaxed while waiting for dinner.



 Lynnette apparently became the unofficial Bear Crew Cook
when she went denning last year. None of us minded.



After dinner we played some Dutch Blitz.


 

Bears!!! Part I

April was invited to join the BYU bear crew on their winter denning trip. Since we didn't have a collapsed ceiling and the recent trauma of moving this year, it was possible to go. Ian accompanied her for a fabulous adventure to the Book Cliffs of Utah.

Wednesday, 7 March 2012

The trusty red Subaru was packed with winter gear, 

and we left sunny Yuma to find some real snow up north.

Human Interest Photo taken by Ian:

Giant tires being hauled someplace along Highway 95

We drove ALL DAY Wednesday and arrived at the Black's home in Mapleton, Ut, around 9:30 p.m. They had their guest apartment all ready for us. Here is Ian on the hide-a-bed.

Thursday, 8 March 2012

April got up early to do a session at the Provo Temple. Then we helped Hal and Larisa load up the trucks, went grocery shopping, and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive after getting off work. We left around 5:00 p.m. and arrived at the Elmgreen's Bed and Breakfast at the south end of the Book Cliffs around 10:00 p.m.

When the Cat's Away, . . . More Cats Come!

April and Ian are off looking for bears in the Book Cliffs! With me teaching all day, Megan was in charge on the home front. Within a morning she figured out how to tame the situation. . . by making tigers!

 

 

Day 2 (Thursday). I came home to discover that Erin had turned into a cat ("I want to be like Kiki!"), and Dallin was a lion (sorry, forgot to get photos before we washed it off at bedtime).

This time Megan decided to try a few things out on herself. First she thought about how she might look when she goes to see Wicked this Saturday (her surprise birthday present). 

 

Then she joined the cat family.



All these were done with acrylics. Megan took about 20-45 minutes for each one. Tonight I picked up some actual face paints from the craft store, so we'll see if any new creatures appear tomorrow!

15 Trips Around the Sun (or Half-way to Age 30)

Today was Megan's birthday! 

She started it off with early-morning Seminary class where her teacher gave her a mini cake.

Then she opened presents before Dad had to go to work.

The BIG surprise for her was the item in the yellow envelope: 

A ticket to the Broadway Musical Wicked! 

She'll be going to see it in Tempe, AZ, this weekend with some friends in the ward.

She chose Roundtable Pizza for dinner...

...followed by a chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert.

She designed her own cake decor from the Lion King Broadway Musical Logo.

(We'll eventually get around to posting about our trip last November to see that one...)

Happy Birthday, Megan!!!

Welcome to March!

Neighbor Wedding

Zach's older brother got married this week in the San Diego Temple. The reception was held outside in the Price's back yard, which is possible to do in March if you live in Yuma. 

Zach greeted guests as they arrived.

The Happy Couple:

Ryan and Michal

They fed us dinner! We sat with our friends, the Horrocks family, who are fellow USU Alumni.

Humanitarian Aid Projects

This time our ward focused on making preemie baby quilts and baby bibs to donate. The quilts are very small, measuring only 18" X 18". April and Megan made 8 of them using scraps of fabric from our fabric stash.

 Dallin's New Hobby

Kiki is a very patient kitty. Dallin's new favorite activity is to carry her around the house like this.