Grin and Bear it

There's nothing I could've done even if I could've done something which I couldn't because it all happened so quickly I didn't have time to breathe.

But in the flash between Acacia's blood-curdling scream, my looking out the upstairs picture window down into the courtyard, seeing Acacia sprinting into the house and a bear bounding out the archway - my heart  beat only once. Then it raced like I'd downed a pitcher of coffee.

Acacia had walked across the courtyard to pick an apple off the tree when she and a large bear realized they were sharing the path. The small, not long path. Then, in what has now morphed into a comical scene in my memory, they both stopped, saw each other and ran in opposite directions, equally petrified of each other.

No photos this time.  :)

Plummage

Apologies to any active members of PETA but...

I HATE RACCOONS!

Nick is home for the weekend and tonight while we were eating our tomates farcies, he mentioned that if I wanted any Reine Claude plums this year, I had better get them now.

"Now? Like, right now?"

"Yup."

And there they were, slinking up to the tree as I approached it.

"Scram you rabid thieving nasty little weasels!"

And they did, surely expecting to come back later on for some plum pillaging. But ha HAAAAA, I got them all, SUCKAS! Or, at least, all the those they didn't have room for in their extended bellies last night. To be exact, they got 3.5lbs of the 6lbs my resilient Reine produced this season, after being ravaged by the bears last year.

But the last 2.5lbs are MINE!

Now I need to pick the apples and pears before the bears get 'em.



 

Routine Chaos

So here's our home this morning, four minutes before leaving for school:


"Mom? I need to bring my bike in today. Can you get it down?"

Get the bike down. Flat tire. Search for pump.

Text to Nick: "Do you have the bike pump?"

Nick: "Yup."

"Mom? You need to sign these forms."

Search for pen. Don't know what I'm signing.

Text to Erika (who was driving carpool today): "Can we borrow your bike pump?"

"Mom? Can you get this soup into the Thermos while I brush my teeth?"

Notice soup all over the counter from her attempt at Thermos filling.

"Mom? Where's the brush?"

"Wherever you left it."

"Mom? Can you sign my planner?"

Now where did I put down that pen?

"Mom - I need to bring in a check for the rock climbing thing."

Search for checkbook.

"Whom do I make it out to?"

"I don't know."

Erika pulls up with a Suburban full of kids and a bike pump. Quinn helps Acacia pump up the tires while Cayenne pulls out a pencil and starts asking me questions for the interview she was supposed to conduct for homework last night.


As they back out of the driveway and it becomes very, very still, I can't help but think, " and my Mom had five."

And They're Off - All of Them!

"Daddy's gone on many adventures like climbing Nanga Parbat and bush-flying in Africa, but moving to Phoenix in the middle of summer has to be the craziest," Acacia blurted out in between bites of dinner.

Cayenne's assessment of the situation looked forward rather than to the past: "What I think is crazy is that when he moves back, I'll be ready to get my driver's license."

Whoa Nelly! That is crazy.

And off he went, after a tearful hug and an "I'll see you Thursday." ha! Yup, the girls and I are heading down after school in four days to help him settle in. Four years is long, but not if we tackle it one week at a time.

And Nick wasn't the only one heading back for more education today...

Our middle-schoolers, in 6th & 7th grades now.

Some more cutely dressed than others, but they're all hitting the books, which makes me the responsible adult around here.

Now that just might be the craziest part of all.

   

7 in 7

"Excuse me, Ma'am. But do you know the couple sitting at that table?"

I looked over and told the waitress no.

"...because they just paid for your dinner."

Really? Dang. I shoulda had the prime rib!

I went over to thank them, and they explained they so appreciate parents who've taken the time to raise well behaved kids, that they occasionally do something to show it, like pay their dinner tab.

Ha! How cool is that? Good thing they didn't see Miss Acacia on a sassy day...

The girls and I were in Denver for Acacia's last gymnastics meet. She'd placed first all-round at Regionals, so we had high hopes for the State level, but she just didn't have a good day. Happens to the best of us! She came in 4th on vault, so she got to come home with a medal, but she could've swept it. Still very proud of her, and I love watching her; she's very fluid and looks like a little gymnast. It's a huge thing for her to perform anything with an audience of strangers, so this season of meets has been good for her.

During the four days before her Regionals meet, she, Cayenne and Nick climbed six 14ers. Maybe that's what was missing last weekend!

And the day after Acacia's Regionals meet, I got to join them for their 7th peak in a week, Mt. Lindsey (14,042 ft).

Behind us are Blanca and Ellingwood. To the left of Blanca's peak and down 1,000ft, there are a few snow patches... and if you squint reeeeeeeally hard, you might see our camera that Nick dropped from the ridge...

(I suppose these photos aren't too bad, considering they're taken with a phone.)

Very proud of our baby girl.

 

Blanca Peak

I jumped when Nick's text sprang onto my phone and instantly tears filled my eyes and spilled over. Total relief. I looked across the table at Petra and tried to explain how nervous I'd been that I hadn't heard from him and the girls for eight hours past when they should've been on the summit of Sherman. But she understood. I know it's the easiest 14er in the state, but I'm a mother, so I can't stop the video behind my eyes of everything that could go wrong.

But it all went right and the three of them were done with Sherman, according to Cayenne, "in two seconds." I suppose when the last 14er you climbed took 15.5 hours, this probably did feel like a split second. Back at their campsite by 10:30 A.M., they decided to go nab another one. They were on the summit of Quandary that afternoon, before hunkering down in (long-time family friends) Charlie and Debra Campbell's cabin near Breckenridge. Added bonus: the cabin has television, so my girls are happy campers tonight. 

No photos yet of what they climbed today because they are out of range again, so here are a couple of their last adventure.

 In case you're wondering what could take 15.5 hours? 

Hiking the whole ridge - from the left side of the photo to the right side - of Blanca Peak (14,345 ft). July 1st.

Yay! We're done! Let's eat!!

Slytherin House

Acacia's a screamer at the best of times, but I knew when I heard the pitch of this one that something was amiss. I saw her run to the back door holding her hand and assumed she'd been stung by a bee.

"I got bitten by a snake! It's poisonous!"

Huh? There are rattlesnakes in these parts, but not in the garden. They like the hot dry dusty trails on the open mesas, so maybe in Nick's garden in Phoenix, but not here.

"What did it look like?"

"It was a gardener snake and the kids at school said they're reeeeeeeeally poisonous! I could die!!"

A garter snake? They're harmless and I've never heard of one biting so I needed to make sure that's what it was, and not a rattler.

And there it was, a fat, dopey garter, and on Acacia's hand, a queue of double dots where his fangs had lightly broken her skin in a trail along her thumb.She didn't believe me and I started doubting myself so we Googled it and they do indeed bite occasionally - but no, Acacia would not be dying from it. So off she went, climbing in the garden where the snake lay, not bothered by it and still liking snakes.

Until two days later. That was when she witnessed our fat snake wrapping itself around a small chipmunk who at the time she saw it, was already beyond saving - but still alive. She was beside herself. So sad!

The snake consumed little Chippy from the back legs up, so near the end of this ordeal, just his furry face was peeking out from the snake's dislocated jaws. Zoology 101, right by the front door, just below the empty Stellar's Jay nest.

Acacia no longer likes snakes.