An Early Spring Hike

 Hullo... today I am out on an adventure at Somenos Marsh.

It is beary bird friendly here.

Let's see what we can find...

They have signs about invasive plants... like Himalayan blackberries... so yummy but so bad for native plants.

I wonder what it looks like in the summer... when all this grass is green.

It's pretty though.

Lots of bird houses...

And birds swooping around but we couldn't get any pics...

Beary nice boardwalks otherwise I'd be getting a soaker!

We didn't see any bald eagles today but they are around...

Oooh... do you see that...

The pussy willows are out...

Apparently there's a little creek that flows through this marsh and... there are salmon and trout in it!

It's over there...

Hmmm... OK... if you say so... this would be hard to find when everything is green and bushy!

See... marshy!!!

Oh, yeah, the invasive yellow iris... we have them in a marsh at home too. Beary bad...

They crowd out native plants... might look pretty but pretty is no excuse for invasion... just saying. Hmph.

I like these boardwalks...

Ooooh look... there are apparently beaver lodges here too!!! That's the beauty of a marsh... so many different life forms here.

Errr... maybe that's a beaver lodge?? Don't know...

Beary nice...

Such a nice day...

Bus Bingo!!! Another Winning Card!

 Hullo!!! You know Beanie Mouse and the Bus Bingo thingie?? Well... basically, you put London bus numbers on a Bingo sheet and everytime Beanie rides that bus, you mark it off!!

This is my fourth... correction... FIFTH Bus Bingo card!!! You need to get a horizontal line, a vertical line, a Diagonalley line, and all 4 corners...

And it happened!!!!

Some buses are more common than others and the 214 was holding me up but... it's done!

Now, that means I need to make a new Bus Bingo card!!

Thanks Beanie!!

Finished the Virtual Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)!!!

 Almost there... one step in front of the other... almost there... almost there...

Oh hullo... I have news!!! We (Little Fox and I) are almost done the virtual Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) on The Conqueror Challenges!!

Seeee... only 8.41 km (that's about 5 miles)... soooo close... LF and I are both hiking so this could go by very fast...

It's been a beary long road... 4000 km... 2500 miles. And every hike we did inched us along the route.

It's been really fun.

But I am beary tired too... 

It's hard to keep the human motivated!

But it's also been a great way to explore local trails...

See this... Spotted Coralroot orchid! It is (let me wiki this): "Corallorhiza maculata is a myco-heterotroph; it lacks chlorophyll and obtains energy by parasitizing the mycelium of fungi in the family Russulaceae."

It's beary cool! And I found a clump of them... wonder if there is a clump of Russula mushrooms here in the fall too?

We are getting closer!!! Less than 2 km... that's about a mile! We are doing it today!

There's a nice clump of camas up here... nice.

And... just like that... we are done the PCT!!!

The app bleeped and burped and... we got our Finisher certificate...

Wow... we're really done... hard to believe. There were points in California (longest state in history) where I thought we'd never get to Oregon...

But we have the final postcard too...

And the app map has confirmed it...

Time for a celebratory snack!!!! And thanks to LF for joining up with us to do this... not sure we could have done 4000 km in 24 months (the timeframe to complete a Conqueror Challenge)... not unless I had taken up jogging and this little bear is most definitely NOT a jogger...

Now... we just await our medals... coming in the mail... unless Canada Post strikes (AGAIN!) on May 22... ugh... Don't they know Real Mail is essential to a stuffie? Should be declared an essential stuffie service... hmph.

Laying Gramma to Rest

 Hullo, Sandy Bear here, enroute to go to Gramma's funeral... we are touching base in Vancouver first...

Where Lexie still thinks I am a stuffie chew-toy... honestly... you'd think she'd know better by now!

But Rose knows better!!!

We flew up and got an Airbnb!!! This is my beary first stay in an Airbnb... so far so good...

I like their decor!!! They are obviously fisher people!!

Yes... beary nice decor... 

And "NO!"... I did not pick this Airbnb out... hmph...

Rose is beary tired...

Oh, look... she has excellent artwork in her room too!

OK... well... maybe I did nudge Mama just a tiny bit in this Airbnb's direction...

Let's see what else is in here...

They have fridge magnets... always useful...

And er... more excellent artwork...

You might think this is a bear's lair...

And honestly... I don't blame you!!

But you know... this is the north soooo....

Auntie Pam is looking skeptical but...

On the whole it is a beary nice place!!!

They even have a pool table!!!

We had some fun playing pool and darts...

Oh... and look... they left some honey packets!!

Do you think they knew a bear was coming for a visit?

Either way... much appreciated!!

Oh... and look... more excellent decor!!! No... not a polar bear... Kermode Bear... possibly Old Gimpy...

Yes... love the style in this place...

With one possible exception...

Yes... this... used to be on display in a glass case at the airport but now... it is here in the entrance hall of the Airbnb... made Rose squeak when we first walked in!!!

Which makes perfect sense... not everyday you get almost pounced on by a lynx... or it a bobcat?? We are going to say Lynx (Lync canadensis) based on the long ear tufts...

Anyhow... we are here for Gramma's funeral and there is one other stuffie here...

It's Gramma's Teddy... 

He is a beary old, beary wise bear who has seen a lot in his long life (90 years old). He's got a prosthetic arm... and many repairs... 

He's been with Gramma since she was very young... and it seemed only fitting that Teddy would join Gramma for her final journey... 

Teddy will be laid to rest with her in the coffin. It's becoming something of a tradition. Grampa had a teddy go with him... and now Auntie pam wants her childhood teddy bear to be buried with her... and Mama... well... of course... Teddy, we salute you. You have done admirable service... and now you can rest.

The funeral service went OK... although... they did start with Amazing Grace which guaranteed that Mama was sobbing as she followed the procession into the church. Lovely... but it's what Gramma wanted...

We added another stone with Gramma's name to the grave plot. Grampa's stone needed a touch up but now that they are both in here, we can look at getting a real gravestone.

Teddy... we salute you. And Gramma and Grampa...  RIP

And of course our flight was delayed a day... so we had a sunny day to hang around...

But we finally did manage to leave... Mama says... the stories she could tell about flying home from university and only landing or taking off 50% of the time in the winter... fun...