The Reawakening

Welcome to the season when hibernating creatures reappear. A family member spotted this warning on a hotel door up north: watch out for bears in the parking lot. So that means forget about hiking for now. After such a brutal winter, promise you won’t complain about bears or the drenching spring rain showers, and I’ll try not to complain about the newly-awakened creepy crawlers. Here’s the important the question on everyone’s mind (or maybe it’s only on mine): Will our snowy winter guarantee fewer insects this spring? Bug experts say it’s a mixed bag, depending on the species. Overall, bugs have lots of ways to adapt to harsh temperatures so we shouldn’t expect unusually low numbers. That’s fine, as long as we don’t get these:

                                  

                                               http://youtu.be/HVeNX-uWIGA

Spring brings bears, and apparently bug swarms. As you can see, this man has a bit of a problem. On the bright side, experts say the boxelder bugs should disappear within a few weeks. Despite these types of challenges, the season still gives us a lot to appreciate. As we bask in nature’s beautiful reawakening, which aspects of spring are you grateful for?          

      

Fish Out Of Water

Nothing gets a double-take like the sight of a big, burly bear lounging on top of a child’s playground set in your neighbor’s backyard. Bears, bears, everywhere! It’s like they’re abandoning the woods (what’s left of them) for backyards and housing developments. Check outside, there may be one at your door. They’re getting too comfortable prowling our streets and foraging through trashcans for leftovers. We’ll always pause to stare at a fish out of water. Look at this one:        

                                             http://youtu.be/4VBBjm0Iayo  

This fish actually leaves the water to walk to nearby bodies of water. But wait, there’s more. Not only has it popped up in Canada, the Snakehead fish is alive and well in New York City’s Central Park. Change is inevitable once the natural order of life gets twisted. Have you been feeling like a fish out of water? Perhaps you’re in a transitional situation, waiting to make the next step. What’s the better situation that you want to move toward?