3 bear night

monday i drove up to the house in tenn with my folks corgi, king leonidas. we got there around 6pm and straightened up as i hadnt been there in 2 months. i poured out some spoiled soy sauce on the back porch and was reading on the couch when i heard something and thought to myself 'the mice sure are getting bold coming out.' then leo started growling at the door that was ajar and got up to check it out. as soon as i opened the door leo ran off and was chased by something. suddenly i saw a black streak rush towards in the doorway, and recognized it as a black bear. i slammed the door and freaked out, screaming like a girl. i immediately ran to the other door and as i opened the door another bear ran up the stairs at me. by this point i was out of my mind running frantically, but the whole time i had this clear thought that my mother is going to kill me because her dog is a bear snack. i grabbed a headlight and baseball bat and ran outside going bananas: hitting trees and the house and yelling at the top of my lungs. i can hear the mother and cubs down in the woods and i hear leos little collar bell jingling and sheepishly coming up the drive.

i think when i opened the door the mother chased leo and one of the cubs bluff charged me. when she heard my flipping out she turned back then the other cub charged me on the front porch.



this little bear hates benches

this bear hates styrofoam insulation

this little bear hates football-sized yankee candles (autumn toasted-cinnamon swirly surprise)


this little bear loves sleeping in compost bins (this one is juuuust right)

chandeleur islands

soundwaves.usgs.gov

the chandeleur islands managed by the National Wildlife Refuge, are a chain of islands off the east coast of louisiana, which were the historic result of the mississippi river outflow when the mouth was much further north. the islands were hit hard by the oil spill compounded by heavy erosion (>85%) means they are predicted to disappear in 20 years. we are the last team this season to collect impact data from the sites.


soundwaves.usgs.gov

due to their remoteness from the mainland (3.5 hrs from biloxi, ms) trips require you to stay on boats. visitors arent allowed on the islands because of their distinction as a federal wildlife refuge and ecological sensitivity, so our access to the island was very special.


http://www.rodnreel.com/chandeleurislandcharter/assets/images/pagea2.jpg


also known for its legendary amazing fishing the islands are a sad reminder of what used to be. they are ringed by deep, blue water which closely approach productive, shallow grassbeds this creates a unique environment where large predator fish can come close to land.

it would have been a sin not to take advantage of this opportunity soooooo every spare moment was spent fishing the shallow flats for redfish, black drum, sand trout, speckled trout, and shark

sand trout


motoring through the flats


shane and greg


pelican feeding frenzy


the majority of our time was spent pulling boats through the flats


greg and shane (green)