Scat!

Dove's birthday typically heralds the transition from summer to autumn.  It is a very subtle transition, but it is there, nonetheless...

 

lingonberries begin to ripen...

 

 

Raindrops take longer to evaporate...

Funguses abound... 

 

 



The kids and I were hiking on this beautiful trail that begins just at the end of our road, enjoying the cooler temperatures.  It had recently rained (finally!), so much of the smoke that has been hanging around from all of the forest fires this summer had begun to dissipate and the trail was calling...

 

However, less than a half-mile in, we came across this...

 

 

Hmmm...super fresh - like it had just been dropped off by a bear's behind.  It kind of reminded me of when Dove was little and went through the only-wanting-to-eat-blueberries phase when she was still in diapers...oddly enough, the little gifts she would leave inside her diapers looked much like this!

 

But I digress...

 

  I went back and forth in my brain...do we turn around?  Do we go on?  Am I a tough Alaskan mama, or am I a wimpy cheechako?  I was at a loss.  One part of my brain was telling me to turn back, and the other part was telling me that my mind was playing tricks on me and I needed to master my fear.

 

What's a mama and her two cubs to do?

 

While I'm not one for texting on the trail, I took a picture and sent it to BuffaloHeart.  He happened to be working with a welder from the village of Nulato, so he shared the picture.  Sure as sh!t (yes, that was an intentional pun, thank you very much), he said "yep, looks like black bear scat." 

 

So, without further adieu, we turned-heel and headed home...

 

and baked some sunflower-chocolate-chip cookies...

 

YUM!