Got seeds?

This picture says two things to me. One, birdfeeders shaped like cute little bears make great snack bowls. And two, I really need to clean my windows! Actually, this was a common sight at my house this spring. It didn't happen everyday, but it happened. I lost quite a few feeders. It got to a point where I had to bring them in at night. Since summer, bears haven't been coming into the yard as much, though they are still seen in the neighborhood. Now that berry season is ending, I'm sure they'll be looking for those last good meals before winter, so I'll have to be more careful. And just so you know, I was sitting less than 3 feet away when this bear was here. I was typing on my laptop and didn't even hear her come up behind me.

Today, however, is a completely different sight out there. My husband just stood up from the couch and when he looked outside he said, "Oh my God!" I swear, there had to be over 100 finch birds out there. And maybe 100 is a low count. They are everywhere! We have a fountain out back, next to a birdfeeder, and the birds are going absolutely nuts. I have never seen so many birds in one place. The sad thing is that our house has a funny shape to it and has a great room with 8 big windows and 3 door panels made of glass. You got it -- thunk, thunk, thunk! I can't even count how many have crashed into the window today, but it's a daily problem. Sometimes they fly right off, but other times they sit on the deck stunned for a long time. Sometimes they hit so hard and don't survive. It was like this in early spring, but the number of birds mellowed out in summer. Now it's absolutely crazy again. It must be their migration time. Either that or they just love my house. "She bought the good seeds this time!"

We drive around for hours in national parks looking for wildlife. Our main goal is to find something rare or unique, aside from the commonly seen elk, bison or deer. We're usually looking for bears, wolves or something we never see like mountain lions, badgers or porcupines. It's kind of funny though because even with all that driving around, all we really have to do is look out our living room windows. Bears aren't a problem in our neighborhood and we haven't had any real issues. Most of our neighbors love seeing them too, which is why they moved here. This picture is of a mama bear and she has two yearling cubs. I've gotten some amazing pictures of them right here in my own yard. I've never gotten as good of bear pictures in all the national parks we've visited. This, of course, isn't one of the better ones, but it's pretty spectacular in itself.