Amazing

I spent the afternoon and evening at my brother's house. We were celebrating his mother-in-law's birthday. It was a really nice time. Dad had gone on an early morning pelagic trip in Mexico and got to my brother's house in time to join us. He was very tired so he and mom left before me. I stayed and watched This Film is not Yet Rated with my brother and sis-in-law. It features more unconstitutional stuff...more un-American practices... your basic nightmare.

I stayed 'til about 10:30. I was almost home when mom called. She said she and Dad were sleeping when the light of a flashlight woke her up. She thought it might be me outside, cutting flowers or something, but she hadn't heard me come in the house. She got up to flip on the backyard light and saw a couple of Police officers standing there. There she is in her nightgown and Dad's sleeping through the whole thing. She asked what they were doing and they said they got a report of a bear. Mom said "They're here all the time. They like our pool and tend to use the yard as a restroom. Don't worry about it."

I'm glad she called. When I pulled up there were still a couple of Police cars at the curb with their lights on. I might have had a heart attack had I not known why they were there. They were, naturally, blocking the driveway so I pulled up and asked if they had seen anything and if it was ok for me to get out of the car. Did I mention the ridiculous shotgun one was carrying? (A cop, not a bear) I sort of feel sorry for the cops in this situation. They are inevitably more freaked out than we are. It must be rough when a nightgown clad, mom-type tells you it's best to chill out about your damn mission.

I never saw the bear. It's funny, the neighbors around here don't seem to give the bears much thought. I think it's the visitors and drunk teens at the neighbors who freak out. We do seem to be seeing the bears a lot more often these days. We used to see bears every few years. Now it's several times a year. Maybe I should read up on it.

And speaking of nature...

Are you watching the Planet Earth series? It's incredible! I've only seen a couple of episodes but I'm hooked. It's stuff you've ever seen before. Because of recent developments in camera mounting and digital slow motion technology we're able to watch the behavior of animals and weather systems like never before. There are under water shots of elephants swimming and slow motion Killer Whale attacks. And lets just say there is some freaky creatures in the Ocean. A Vampire Squid?! Giant Tube Worms?! Cool! I think I've said "Ewww!" the most during the "Deep Oceans" episode.

The tree cover is so dense in New Guinea that the rain forest floor is nearly dark. Now we're able to clearly view Birds of Paradise "showing" for mates. Aerial shots show how wild dogs use sophisticated tactics when attacking prey. It's an amazing display of team work.

Planet Earth is airing every Sunday night until mid-April. There are opportunities to catch it during the week as well.

Of course The Tudors premieres tonight so I'll be recording the midnight airing of Plant Earth's "Desserts" and "Ice Worlds" segments.