Oh what do you do in the summertime

NORTHERN NEWS
by Maxine Teeter
It is the goal of my partner and I to spend as much time on The Mountain as possible in the summer. 
Folks ask me what we do there.  Well, the last two summers I spent a lot of time chanting, “I want to see a bear!”
Last week we were camped at Medicine Lake.
I was snoozing in my fifth-wheel on my memory foam mattress (these old bones no longer do tenting and sleeping on the ground) when my spouse shook me and asked if I wanted to see a bear. 
I shot up and in 2.9 seconds had on my bear watching shoes. We trekked down slope about an eighth of a mile where we were greeted by the raucous noise of crows indicating the spot for which we were searching.
It is a fact of nature that there will be blood – or at least death – in the ongoing food chain.  In this case, it was a yearling heifer belonging to La Sal Livestock. 
Livestock may be an introduced species in the natural food chain of mountains but makes good carrion none the less.
Sure enough, feasting on said cow was brown bear. We spent half an hour or so just watching it munch away. A couple of days later as we were deciding on our daily walk, we opted to go once more to see if the bear buffet was still in business. 
Sure enough, there were those crows again.  This time we watched for over an hour as mama bear and baby bear enjoyed brunch.  Guess papa bear was back at the den waiting for his porridge to cool.
Shortly thereafter, Wile E. Coyote and buddy came sneaking up trying to grasp a few putrid morsels of beef. 
They had a healthy respect for ma bear who was now snoozing in the shade while baby continued to eat.  But they knew she was within earshot if her baby started to howl.
Yep. I’m now satisfied. I’ve seen a bear.
The ladies of La Sal held a get-together last Thursday night where they were encouraged to do a little bragging.  The theme of the evening was  “Younique Gifts and Talents.” 
The ladies were encouraged to bring items to display showing their talents.  Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, I am unable to give you a firsthand account. 
We have a lot of master quilters in our village as well as those who wield a crochet hook or a pair of knitting needles.  I bet Ruthie Thayn showed up with her almost-lighter-than-air dinner rolls.  But as organizer Dianne Hatch said, not all talents are visible. 
Fare for the evening was scones and fruit salad.  Each lady was to bring an item ready to put into the making of the salad.  I think there was an object lesson there.  I just bet it was a really fun evening.
I see in roaming about town – Monticello town – that La Salian Jace Hill is biting the bullet next week as he weds his high school sweetheart.  More to come on that soon.
The La Sal Library Guild, mostly known as just Book Club, will meet Tuesday, August 7 to discuss their latest read.  The title of the latest book is “The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.”
The main character is a young boy in Burma who goes blind in his early teens. 
Losing his sight, his other senses increase.  He soon finds that he can hear the heartbeat of any living creature from insects to humans.  With the heartbeat of humans, he can determine the kind of person they are. 
It was an interesting book.
Summer is fastly waning especially if your summer is defined by the school schedule.  For empty nesters, it lasts a little longer. For some, that means more time on The Mountain.