Visitors…Furry is Not my Friend

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Our daughter drove up from Florida over Easter, making a stop on the way to spend a couple of days with a college friend. We enjoyed spending Easter together before she drove over to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to spend a few days with an old friend. They both love rollercoasters and were looking forward to some thrill rides.

The big, black bear is definitely back. As I mentioned last week, It was first sighted at a neighbor’s home so we made sure to bring in our bird feeders at night in hope that the bear would not visit. It seems our plan did not work. So far we have recorded him twice on our game camera. His second visit, we were in bed, but not yet asleep when we heard a noise and ran to look outside.

Our family, cousins visiting from Florida heard the same noise we did but decided to stay safe and snug in the bedroom. After seeing the video from the game camera the following morning, it took some coaxing to convince them they would be safe on the porch during the day.

Our cousins have visited several times before, and I knew that they enjoyed exploring and driving back roads. I remembered a quaint church we discovered a couple of years ago, just a few miles away. Saint John’s Episcopal Church. It is a small lovely church surrounded by graves dating back to the 1800s.

While we were there, a volunteer was tending to the church needs and shared the history. We were surprised to learn the congregation meets outside in good weather. Our previous visit there was in summer. This visit the blooming dogwood trees changed the whole atmosphere.

Over the winter our daughter’s much loved friend, Mia the cat died.As she emerged from grieving she began praying for direction in choosing a new companion pet. Ideally, she wanted to adopt one that was given up due to the owners inability to no longer care for it. She was open to a cat or a dog. She brought a carrier with her, to be ready just in case. One day on a grocery run she saw a sign for a shelter with a website listed. She found two dogs, brother and sister that had been surrendered and were available. They were two years old, part dachshund and chihuahua. By the time we arrived the following day, the female was adopted but the male was still available. I think it was love at first sight.

HIs name was chewy, which I thought was a bit ominous, but so far he hasn’t lived up to it. Our daughter has always wanted a dog named Ollie and is in the process of training him to recognize it as his new name. Has anyone every changed a pets name?

The weekend before she returned to Florida, she helped me pot some flowers, which she is good at and I am not, and climbed the hill behind us to anchor a flower basket. I love seeing the petunias waving at me as I sip my morning coffee on the porch.

She also supervised her dad hanging a sign over the door to our porch. It was a Christmas gift and I had waited all winter to be home and have it hung. I enjoy it every time I see it.

Sadly, our time together with our daughter was drawing to a close. She had really wanted to have a campfire one evening and on her last night, the weather was perfect, warm with a touch of cool.e could have toasted S’mores if I had planned ahead. Living a low carb lifestyle would have meant I would have needed to make both marshmallows and graham crackers. We substituted with mango ice cream and Razzle Dazzle coffee. The coffee is from a local Florida roaster and has a delicious raspberry flavor.

Tags: Bears, Easter, Family, Gardening