Little Bear's Adventure's
I'm not in heaven. I know I've had a lot of close calls lately, but I am not on a cloud in heaven. I Lucked Out I actually found one cotton field left outside of Houston that hadn't been picked yet! Fluffy Spot I was enjoying the view from my fluffy spot, when I noticed a silver truck heading towards Beth. The man hollered out his open window, "Pretty cotton, huh?" Beth stopped clicking her camera to agree. The farmer who happened to own the land said the cotton would all be picked by tomorrow! Whew! I almost missed an adventure with cotton! One more disturbance! This truck was even bigger. And it was coming our way! It came to the edge of the field and turned towards Beth and me, before heading back up to suck up more cotton. Beth waved so I think he saw us. Well, maybe not me. As you can see I blend well with cotton. Adventure in the Cotton Field Well, it was enough adventure for me just watching this truck from my cotton perch! This crazy mechanical cotton picker was plucking up as much cotton per minute as over two hundred sets of human humans. Fact? Actually, I'm not sure how many hands it would take, to do the work of one mechanical picker. But I do know humans were the only ones picking cotton before 1943. It would have been a lot quieter out here watching the cotton getting picked back then. Maybe I could have helped. I could have at least done a little singing. I would have liked that part. Stay Tuned Beth says Texas is a big state for cotton, but she's taking me to Mississippi in a week to stay at an old cotton farm. I don't know about that. We'll see.
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Lots of Exploring Over Labor Day Weekend! I took Rose out to the Texas Hill Country for a few days. She is from New York, so I stayed very close to her, in case she was suddenly spooked by a scorpion or a roadrunner or a fox. 100 Degrees It was at least 100 by the time we reached the top of this Prickly Pear cactus. Rose isn't used to this kind of heat, so I reminded her to take her time. OUCH! I forgot to remind Rose about the prickles on the Prickly Pear. You can see them on my stomach. When I was lost in New York, (before I was rescued) I lost a lot of fur during a few mishaps. I don't have much protection anymore. Rose Likes to Help Rose took one look at those prickles and she used those big teeth of hers to pull each one out. I tried to remind her that I've been through a lot of adventures, it wasn't that bad! But she just wrapped those big paws around me and she kept saying...
"There, there, there..." Sitting on a Cattail Who would have guessed that a cattail makes a very good spot for viewing the sunset! A cattail is actually very soft, and I was high enough from the marshy water to feel the glow of the sun! Watching the Sun Lower I had to sigh when the pinkish clouds started to appear! When the sun was almost gone, a warm breeze began to blow... and I sighed again. See me high on the left? Oops! That breeze blew me right off my perch! Can you see me tumbling down the side of the cattail? I was lost for nearly 10 minutes. Beth reached around in the dark, grumbling and laughing at the same time. I kept waving my arms when her hand got close, but it had gotten too dark for her to see me in the marsh.
I think I like sunrises better! I Love Cactus We have prickly pear cactus in Texas. I'm small enough I can find the smooth parts and avoid those tiny prickles. Radishes? I love climbing around the more challenging cacti. I was thinking about tasting one of those red things. They look like radishes. Come to think of it, I don't like radishes. So why bother. Hearts If you search for a little while, you can usually find a prickly pear that's shaped like a heart. I prefer sitting right in the middle! Flowers! Sitting inside a flower is a safe way to stay clear of the thorns and prickles. Watch Out! Bees like being in the flowers, too. I'd rather bump a prickle than get stung! Risk I'll risk the sting and sit in the pink flower. A Hedgehog cactus is no fun for climbing! Is this even a cactus? I saw these in Sedona and I don't know what they are. But it only has tiny th0rns on the sides and the cushy, tilted ends make very good hammocks for a little relaxing. My Favorite In Phoenix, I got to see my favorite, the saguaro! Now that's a cactus like you see in the cowboy movies! It would take me a day to climb up one of the tall ones. But I got distracted just a little ways up. I had to turn around and just stare in awe at the sky. Passing between me and the deep blue, was a quietly drifting, yellow, blue and orange hot air balloon! I Waved I hoped they'd see me and lower down so I could climb in. But, they couldn't see me. In fact I don't think anyone can even spot me in this picture. Next Time I'm going to explore one of these! It looks like it has curly hair!
It's as if this cactus is saying, "Come on board, I'll curl my spikes down so they won't hurt you. Gotta love that in a cactus! Still in Texas! This road trip is moving very slowly through Texas. But at least I'm learning some history! Can you see me, standing upon this piece of historical wall? It was once part of the first transcontinental mail route! I'm talking, before the Civil War...the stage coach stopped here for water along the way from San Francisco to St. Louis! This is amazing to me! Back in the Flowers This is a very strange looking plant. I noticed a sign nearby that read, APACHE PLUME! Would you believe this flower is part of the rose family? Hairy Things I'm sort of okay with posing in flowers like these. The hairy parts remind me of Dr. Suess characters. I also had a pretty good view of the Guadalupe Mountains from my spot in the flowers! I wish Beth would have just taken me to the top of the mountain, instead.
I could have claimed I had been to the highest point in Texas! Fire Here I am, sitting in a burnt tree in Davis Mountain State Park. A year ago I was supposed to come stay here, (riding in Beth's camera case) and the trip was cancelled due to wildfires. We should have come anyway. I'm sure there is something I could have done to help. Sad I just keep looking out on all this burnt land. It's not just the trees... This building was burnt, too. Beth told me to stop moping... She stuck me in some wild flowers and reminded me that there was new growth. Come on Beth. That was just an excuse to pose me in flowers again!
Off on another road trip! Headed to Sedona, but we've only made it to West Texas. Here I am, pondering how near yet so far I am from Mexico! A week ago I celebrated Cinco de Mayo. Now I'm just a few miles from the border. Big Bend National Park I'm so close to Mexico. It makes me want a margarita. Maybe if I keep climbing up high and staring towards Mexico, Beth will take me for a visit! Oh well. The view is nice. I'll stop complaining.
Barbed Wire I'd rather sit on some barbed wire, than a cemetery stone. Off US 59 near Richmond, Beth noticed a dirt road called Cemetery Drive. I knew she had her camera and feared she was going to start posing me on gravestones! Wind! Gusts of wind kept knocking me off! That gave me a little excitement, but Beth got more than I did. She reached through the barbed wire, trying to find me in the weeds and wild flowers...she scratched her hand while a hidden colony of fire ants discovered her right foot. A Safer Spot That falling thing, followed by fire ants, actually happened a couple times and then Beth put me on a safer spot. Nice View It was a nice view from the wooden post. I could peer over at some horses and some gravestones. But when I saw this photo, I told Beth she needs a better camera. Those flowers look like blurry fire flies. "Hey Bear," She assured me. "You are the only thing I need to focus on." I thought that was a clever excuse for not knowing how to use her camera. Wondering About People It was a little sad staring over at these reminders of people I never knew. Rest in Peace, "Stinky" and "Buzz" and "Birdman". These people had a lot of nicknames! Alive! Then I spotted some horses and that was a nice surprise. They were moving around and nibbling grass. They were real, living horses! I'm hoping if I ever come back here, Beth will let me ride on one of the horses!
Me on the Clothesline Today I went on a road trip with Beth and her friend Lorrie. They drove to Fayetteville, TX to take pictures. They carried a stack of quilts into some stranger's backyard. I don't know why they wanted to take pictures of quilts on a clothesline, but I'm always game for adventure and I kept an eye out from the top of a clothespin. Nice View! You'd be surprised what a nice view it was from the top of the quilt. I could see two horses in a field and the wind was blowing the grass and the sun was popping in and out from behind moving clouds. The Mystery House I could also keep an eye on the house while Beth and Lorrie clicked their cameras. They seemed mighty positive that no one was home. But, I'm pretty sure they could get in trouble for trespassing. While keeping an eye out, I noticed a nice hole in a tree! I was getting curious about the hole, when I overheard Beth and her friend whispering about a man who was watching them from the porch of another house. They were nicknaming him Boo Radley. Boo Radley's Tree Beth and Lorrie were acting like mothers, talking in code while their kids play. But I've read "To Kill a Mockingbird" and I know about that creepy Boo character. But I always thought it was very cool the way Boo tucked tiny toys in the hole of his tree. Then, Beth pretended she was Boo for a moment and let me sit in the hole. That was dangerous. I could have fallen inside that tree! But it was fun to imagine Gem and Scout discovering me. Luckily Beth is too selfish to leave me behind. Sneaky Snapshot At one moment Beth left her camera unattended and I climbed the tripod. Click! I got a photo of Lorrie and Beth and they never knew! This turned out to be sort of a fun adventure. It's Illegal! Beth likes to remind me that picking bluebonnets is against the law in Texas. Who does she think I am? That's like someone telling Beth not to pick an Elm tree. I couldn't pick a bluebonnet if I tried. I can climb a bluebonnet, though. Not many can claim that. Posing with Bluebonnets Why do Texans like to pose their babies and dogs in the bluebonnets? When you drive down TX 71 towards Austin in the spring, you can see cars pulled over and cameras clicking away. Five years ago, (long before I was doing photo shoots) Beth and her sister posed "Miss Copeless" in the bluebonnets. They thought this pitiful doll (owned by their good humored mother) needed a little cheering up, but as you can see the bluebonnets didn't help. If only Miss Copeless were a bit smaller, she could have wrapped her arms around a bluebonnet and swayed in the breeze like me... maybe that would have cheered her. A New Approach But the best way to enjoy, is by climbing a nearby cactus and gazing down at a few of the new bloomers! I am after all a bear who loves adventure and challenge. I enjoyed those few moments tucked in between pointy thorns, admiring the cute little flowers.
Coming Soon! As Valentine's Day approaches, it's time to be thinking about friends. Luckily Little Bear has a few friends he can depend on. Sometimes he doesn't have much to say. He just needs to hang out. And sometimes he just needs to cozy up... especially with friends who have soft hair. Sometimes Little Bear just needs a little boost. That's all. Most of the time, he just needs a friend to smile.
Celebrating the Chinese New Year After falling in champagne on December 31, Little Bear played down the Chinese celebration, just a bit. Tea and fortune cookie...no alcohol. Lots of pondering for Bear. He is sad that he had never been to China. Although he did visit Houston's Forbidden Garden last year. Here he is, shown last year, tucked inside the ear of a statue... pouting. He had just learned they were dismantling the museum. But then he climbed onto the roof of a miniature building... ...and found a small friend who shared his concerns. They gazed out over the sea of Chinese Warriors... ... and watched some very annoying buyers cart them away, one by one. Then Bear recognized someone buying one of the warriors! No more complaints from Bear... He and the Warrior have become close friends!
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Little Bear
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