Flowers and a Snoozzzzzing Bee

Hullo... Remember my botanical extravaganza from a few weeks ago? Well, today I am trying a different access point along this old road. It has a big barricade across it and...

There's even a ditch along the right hand side, extending into the bush...

Pour quoi, I wonder...

This path goes under the highway... we aren't going that way...

We are going that way!

And then thataway...

Along the way, we potted this memorial.... awww... poor bunny rabbit.

He says his name is Floppit and he's been here a beary, beary long time.

We are looking for the south end of the Harewood Plains and the rare Bog Bird's Foot Tregoil flora... this is the right type of rock...

Do you see that little tree growing right off the cliff face?

I'm not sure how it's doing it... but it's obviously been there for a few years. Plants are sooo tenacious.

Are we there yet? This road just seems to keep on going?

Ah, here's a little patch of it... I know these flowers now.

We have yellow Monkey Flower and pink Sea Blush and some purple Camas (above).

Seriously... this has already been 10 minutes and we're still along this old road.

Although... there are cool things along here like this birch tree!

We don't get a lot of birch trees here so this is beary unusual.

Finally!!! A fork in the road... which way...

We are going right...

As I was walking along, I noticed how the plants along the side of the pavement are starting to colonize...

First there's moss... and then some grass...

And then there's Kinnikinick...

I don't think it would take many years before the plants were totally covering this road.

And... wherever there is a crack you see this...

It's ants spewing sand and grit out of the cracks... all it needs is a little tree seed to get in there and... 

You'd have a little strip of forest growing.

OMG... finally!!! The end of this road (20 minutes later)

Errr... you mean... we are like 20 feet from the highway here?

Next time... just sayin'... maybe we could park along the highway and... you know... avoid the long hike along a boring road!

Grumble... there is an old homeless camp here... with lots of discarded stuff.

Finally... under the powerlines... let's go!

Ah, a cute thimbleberry bush...

The leaves look kind of like a maple leaf... but softer and furrier....

Tip... thimbleberry leaves make a pretty good TP if you're desperate... hehheh.

And some salmonberry... Wait... what's that?

There's a bit fat bumblebee under this blossom... It is still quite cool this early in the morning and... I think this bee is sleeping...

I think... maybe...

I'll just wait a bit and see if it wakes up and leads me to its honey hive!

Stay tuned....

2020 Stuffie Olympics - Garden & Field - Pentathlon Obstacle Course

Good Morning! Today is a big day, as you all know, the last day of the 2020 Stuffie Olympics, as sponsored by Ajdin the Bosnian Bear. We are standing here with Sandy Bear, winner of several gold medals from previous Olympics. Sandy, can you tell us what event you are competing in today? Is it the Synchronized Sitting contest again?

"Oh... er... Hi... well no... after much deliberation, I decided to go for a more traditional event - the Pentathlon Obstacle Course in the Garden & Field competition. I've never done this event before but... I figure with all my hiking, I have been doing good training."

Excellent news Sandy! I notice you are wearing the Vancouver team uniform. Are you competing for Vancouver then?

"Well, no... my custom uniform got delayed due to Covid-19. I think the factory is now making N95 masks and hospital gowns. I am quite happy to give up my uniform for such a good cause!"

Wow! Great attitude Sandy... So how's the course looking today? Any concerns about the recent hot spell we've been having??

"A little bit - after all that rain, and now with the hot weather, some of the course components have gone a bit... well... wild, shall we say!"

Alright then, well good luck Sandy... we wish you all the best and... Oh, that is one focused bear... look at that concentration. He's not hearing a thing we're saying... Let's go down to the starting line...

And here we are... Well, this is quite the scene. Sandy is standing before the first obstacle of the Pentathlon, the dreaded Parsnip Perambulation. Sandy looks focused though... And, I think they're ready to begin... let's listen to the announcer...

On your mark...

Get set...

Ready...

GO!!!

Oh wow... look at that... Sandy just dove right in and cleared a few of those tough initial leaves...

And he's hustling quite well now, dodging and ducking... let's see what our Eye-in-the-Sky can see...

"Eye-in-the-Sky here - not much to report, those leaves are pretty thick although we can see movement down there..."

Ah there... we have a glimpse of Sandy, looks like he's doing the Sideways Slither trying to squeeze through some of those tight spots.

Oh... and he's out!!! And facing the dreaded drop down into Buttercup Canyon... Let's see how he handles this...

Oh excellent form.... he's going for the full body drop... smart move that...

But now he faces the dreaded Storm the Garden Bed Wall... how's he going to make that...

Oh, well done - that was quite the full frontal leap!! And he's got a grip on the top of the bed... can he hang on and pull himself up??

By jove, I think he's done it!!! Well done, Sandy!

A quick dash through the Kale and he's now at the dreaded Wire Climb... this is a tricky one. That wire can get hot in the sun!

Oh, but he's managing it quite well at the start here...

Moving good... and climbing fast... Hard to believe a little bear can move that quickly, but they have untapped skills in that area you know. Not your average bear as they say!

And he's made it up!!! Now the tricky part... He has to skootch to the left, untie the rope and do the dreaded Tarzan Swing back down into the kale. We've seen so many competitors fail at this transition... hoping Sandy can make it and... oohhhh!!!

That was a close one but... he's held on... barely!!! Let's see if we can get an instant replay from the rope cam...

Hmmm... not much to see there, but you can see how close Sandy came to falling. Heart was in my throat there but... he might just pull this off.

Oh and he's done it... untied the rope and has it held quite securely. This is the tricky bit, requires a lot of gumption and guts to just throw yourself off and swing down into the kale. Deep breath... you can see his concentration here...

Oh, and he's done it - he's leapt!!

And there he is, a good safe landing in the kale...

Now he's just got to get out of the kale bed... and... yes, we know it says Spinach... that's an old sign from a previous Olympics. Budgetary restraints you know, have to reuse things....

Right then... Sandy's almost there... he just needs to Thread the Needle of Thyme and Hyssop... lots of bees in there right now. It's a tricky obstacle because so many bears can get distracted by the bees and go way off course but... Sandy seems to have his Focus Game on today!

There he goes!! Oh, and we just saw a bee go by but... Sandy seems quite intent on making it through...

And he's done it!!! Just one obstacle left - the Chicken Wire Crawl!

Just a good belly crawl but it requires some concentration and effort...

And here he comes!!

Sandy's made it through and all he needs to do now is dash for the Finish Line!!

Must say, he made it through that Chicken Wire Crawl in record time... he must be practicing his belly crawl out in the woods these days!

And... almost there... just needs a few more steps and...

He's done it!!! Wow! Great time Sandy and a great performance... any comments to our viewers?

"... pant... wheeze... I'm just glad I could focus so well today. ... gasp... I've been practicing and it's so easy to get distracted by the bees and slugs and spiders but... ...wheeze... I've been really working on my focus and patience and I think today it paid off"

Well, thanks so much Sandy and good luck in the competition! We'll see how the other competitors do in the other events. It's a tough field this year. We've already seen Droops' Troop ace the 1 Metre Stuffie Speed Reading Relay Competition... Hard to say who'll be the gold medal winner this year!