Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

We will not go back.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Faunasphere / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Not An Expected Visitor…

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Not An Expected Visitor…

by | 117 Comments

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From indefatiguable gardener / commentor Ozark Hillbilly:

We had a visitor… All pics and video by my wife from her cell phone

(There was also a short video, but I can’t figure out how to embed .mov files on FYWP.)

Backyard bears are a common enough sight in eastern Massachusetts that the state government has a web page about them. But then, unlike OH’s neighborhood, we get the video clips on the nightly news because The Responsible Authorities are never more than a few minutes away!

***********

Not exactly garden-related, but we’ve just capped several thoroughly disruptive weeks revolving around a caravan to Michigan (pursuant to the ancient folk ritual of celebrating a family wedding by rigorously stress-testing one’s own) with the news that the mystery plumbing back-up in the basement is related to ‘a big clog out where the pipe joins the city line’. And while there’s a temporary fix in place, a permanent resolution will involve paying to have the public street dug up, at the predicted cost of ‘some tens of thousands of dollars.’ I have an uneasy feeling this is going to be one of those catastrophes that our home insurance doesn’t cover, of course…

What’s going on in your garden(s) this week?

Reader Interactions

117Comments

  1. 1.

    sukabi

    Either that bear’s got a touch of mange or someone got close enough to shave a bald spot in it’s side.

  2. 2.

    JPL

    Anne, Yet, you continue to keep us entertained. I do hope that either the city or the insurance company pays the bill.

  3. 3.

    JPL

    Ozark, You can keep your bear. Where I live you hear about the occasional bear wandering down from the mountains, but it is relatively uncommon.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    Repeating for the morning crowd.

    As there are some who are into outer space and things celestial, a shout out to friends’ radio show on Saturday. Normally about computers and tech, they once in a while have Dr. J.D. Arrmstrong, professional astronomer and teacher, on as a guest. That was the case on July 7 and they devoted the show to space discussion.

    Audio (podcasts, or whatever they’re called) accessible on this page. Also on iTunes and on Audible.

    Dr. Armstrong, among other good things, runs a program which provides precious (and valuable) time on the 2-meter Faulkes telescope atop the volcano on Maui to high school and college students. (Also too, regular head honcho show host was absent. Hope all is copacetic, it’s rare for him to miss a broadcast.)

    (end repeat)

    Switching gears, some easy listening to sip coffee by (or beverage of your choice) and maybe get a toe or three tapping on a Sunday morning.

  9. 9.

    Platonailedit

    I will take fucking floriduh crocs over bears. At least, they just wanna hang around your pool.

  11. 11.

    DanF

    Google: repair sewer connection without digging

    There are solutions that don’t require digging up the street. Not applicable in all situations though… Good luck!

  12. 12.

    Van Buren

    What percentage of Americans would be quicker to call the authorities if there was a black man in their back yard as opposed to a black bear?

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @sukabi: It’s actually not a bald spot, it’s a patch of lighter colored hair. Don’t know why it’s there.

    This guy has actually been around for a year or more, my neighbor has picked him up on trail cameras. Very unusual to see them at midday. Much to my surprise he didn’t tear up the Hummingbird feeders for the nectar. They usually do. He also didn’t go near my trash cans, so he’s not habituated to humans yet. Not too surprising considering how few of us there are in this neck of the woods. Last year I poured a slab for the trash cans as the first step in building a “bear proof” cage for them. I guess it’s time to do the rest.

    Too bad Anne couldn’t embed the video. You would’ve heard my wife cursing like a sailor when he moved towards the garden.

  14. 14.

    Honus

    We’ve got whole families of bears that visit daily, in Virginia, just outside Charlotesville. They love bird seed. A few years back they tore down every bird feeder we had. I moved them all up high up on cables where they couldn’t reach them but they still like to eat the bird seed that the finches drop on the ground.

  16. 16.

    evodevo

    @Honus: Yes. Luckily we don’t have bears lol, but the deer will raid even a squirrel-proof feeder that’s at ground level and use their long tongues to eat all my sunflower seed.

  17. 17.

    evodevo

    @DanF: My sister and BIL are currently going through a debacle involving this – broken sewer pipe under their slab house foundation. All the work so far has been done from INSIDE the pipes, like you do with human circulatory systems nowadays. Fascinating.
    I would think they could roto-rooter out a clog, no matter where it was. AND if it is between the water meter and the street line, it is NOT your responsibility. Stand firm.

  19. 19.

    Lapassionara

    Anne Laurie, yikes about the basement problem. We just went through that with our insurance company. We had an endorsement for sewer line backup, so finally got coverage.

    Amy chance of snaking the clog away?

  20. 20.

    satby

    Today will be a beautiful day, yesterday was too but I was working at the market. I have at least a weeks worth of yard maintenance to catch up to, not the least of which is dragging my house out to deeply water my spring planted shrubs and trees. I’m hoping to see signs of life from the two that were decimated by the ivy removal guys, and though all the others are getting hand watered at the rate of one gallon each every other day it’s not been enough. Big rainstorms have gone through all around but just skimmed our area and it’s bone dry out in the yard.

  23. 23.

    germy

    one of those catastrophes that our home insurance doesn’t cover, of course…

    I always see those Farmers Home Insurance commercials where all sorts of ridiculous things are covered. For example, kids stomping on the floor for a dance video game, paint cans in the garage underneath are shaken off the shelves and spilling paint all over the car. And that’s covered?

    Makes me wonder about my own homeowners insurance, because they never seem to want to cover anything…

  31. 31.

    geg6

    AL, sewer lines suck. We have a major problem with how our line is run that causes clogs and backups regularly. We have settled on just having it snaked once or twice a year whether it needs it (we have a clog or backup) or not. We have a guy who does it for less than $100. Our home was originally a old brick farmhouse that has been expanded to almost twice the original size. But no one ever changed the sewer line. It runs out the back of our house and into the driveway that runs in a U around the house. About six feet into the middle of the drive, it makes a ninety degree right turn, runs up hill in the middle of the drive to the main line on the street. It will never work correctly. We’ve had people give us estimates to fix it but the lowest we got was over $25K to move the line and put the driveway back together. We decided a couple hundred a year was a better deal.

  32. 32.

    OzarkHillbilly

    And speaking of the Thai cave rescue, it looks like they are going to try and bring them out today. Keep your fingers crossed and pray to whatever Gods you believe in.

  33. 33.

    germy

    Stan and Ollie, a new biopic starring John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan looks interesting.

    Stan & Ollie examines the comic pair late in their career. It is the 1950s and the duo’s fortunes have fallen hard from their heyday. Hoping to give their careers a much needed boost, the pair head off to England for a tour of music halls. But the trip would ultimately test both their personal and professional relationship.

    The screenplay is by Jeff Pope, who was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing 2013’s Philomena with Coogan, who would star in the film as well. Director Jon S. Baird is making this his long awaited feature film follow up to 2013’s crime comedy Filth after a detour into British television.

  34. 34.

    Soprano2

    @evodevo: This is not true in my city. Here, the homeowner owns the sewer service line from the house to where it joins the sewer main, and they are responsible for having it repaired. However, the city pays to put the pavement back if it’s a repair. Who owns or repairs what varies from city to city – some take ownership all the way to the cleanout. It’s possible, if the service is clay pipe, that it is so broken where the roots and/or clog are that they cannot get it out with their equipment. I feel for you with a break under a slab foundation – those are a PITA to fix. It is amazing what they can do from inside the pipe – I work for our city sewer dept, so I see the advances in repair technology for mains, and figure it can work for service lines too. Some companies can line a whole service line from inside the main, but the service can’t be clogged or have a big broken-down spot when they do that.

  35. 35.

    WereBear

    Hope you can snake it, AL! Sometimes maintenance will suffice.

    Some bears never get the hang of roughing it; our local wildlife rehab had to bring a young female back into health last year.

  37. 37.

    JPL

    @geg6: I’m in tears. They brought out the weakest first, so there is hope the others will make it also.

  38. 38.

    satby

    So I thought I would share a political report from the hinterland:
    Details are a bit sketchy, but there was some sort of kerfluffle yesterday between vendors at the market, ending with the Trumpista vendor (I think a farmer) packing up and stomping off in a rage. The only reason I know about it was from some of the other vendors talking, the surprise (for me) was that all of the older white demographic involved were anti-Trump and vocal enough to get into a verbal fight about it. I hope it’s a harbinger of good voting results in November, especially that the Trumpista felt outnumbered enough to leave. Wish I had witnessed the whole thing*

    It may have been triggered by the mayor of South Bend shopping with his new husband. No entourage, just a couple shopping, but most people were congratulating them on their marriage a couple weeks ago. And the old white geezers who were just fine with the gay mayor getting married even if they didn’t like his politics also surprised me a bit. It was a good day.

  45. 45.

    geg6

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Having been cave diving once many years ago, I’ve been terrified for those boys. And my experience was perfectly safe, with no more danger than an open water dive.

    ETA: It was in your neck of the woods, I believe. Somewhere in Missouri but I forget the name of the place. It was at least thirty years ago.

  48. 48.

    Platonailedit

    Four Thai boys expected to walk out soon.

    Lieutenant-General Kongcheep Tantrawanit has said another four of the boys are expected to walk out “shortly”.

    They are currently at the divers’ “base camp”, inside the cave system, he said.

    “Four boys have reached chamber three and will walk out of the cave shortly,” he said, according to news agency AFP.

  52. 52.

    geg6

    @rikyrah:

    Well, I’m an atheist but I do believe in the power of positive thinking. So they’ve been getting all the vibes I can send.

  54. 54.

    Humdog

    I’m gonna have the privilege of paying for putting in a new mound septic system next month as my prior system failed in the fall. $25K plus $4K for a tie in for our cabin and I get both my front and back yards completely torn up. No one helps pay for this but the bank loan. : (

  56. 56.

    JimV

    If you need help on that $10K, some of us would be glad to contribute to a GoFundMe or some such thing, in appreciation for all the posts. Just saying.

  60. 60.

    Amir Khalid

    Per the BBC liveblog, the first two boys are out and another four will be out shortly.

  61. 61.

    Aleta

    Quite a moment, the world watching the Thai government go all out to rescue children, while ours must be forced to return the ones it carried off.

  62. 62.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Google tells me it’s 7:50pm there. NPR says the rescue started and 10:00am and the first rescue could take up to 11 hours. So it should be another hour and a half before the first boy comes out. Unless I’ve screwed up the math.

    ETA: I am wrong. Glad it’s going more quickly than they predicted!

  63. 63.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @geg6: Was it the old Bonne Terre mine? They do cavern dives there. It has become quite the tourist destination, in a kitschy Wall Drug sort of way. Still the diving is supposed to be excellent.

  64. 64.

    debbie

    @satby:

    That is very good news! Hopefully, the tide is turning. Pity we won’t be able to tell until we’re able to look back.

  65. 65.

    Elizabelle

    @Aleta:

    Quite a moment, the world watching the Thai government go all out to rescue children, while ours must be forced to return the ones it carried off.

    Yeah, really.

  66. 66.

    JPL

    @debbie: The coverage is confusing, because now they are indicating that the strongest came out first. It does appear that four are out though.

  67. 67.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: Yes, the window of opportunity is very narrowly open so it’s now or never. I suspect they have come to the conclusion that there is no sure fire solution for the bad air situation and that they have no choice but to do this. I was listening to NPR yesterday and they were describing the water as still being near zero visibility with very strong currents. Should anything go wrong no matter how minor it just screams “PANIC!” to me.

  70. 70.

    geg6

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Yeah, I’m an experienced diver and I’m not sure this is something I could do successfully. My heart is in my throat for those kids.

  74. 74.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    None of my broadcast channels are carrying this, but I’m not sure I could watch. I’m choking up just reading the posts here. If silently repeating “Please” counts as prayer, I guess I’m praying.

  75. 75.

    JPL

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’m hearing 4 and they are pausing for the night, according to an US official. It’s still confusing though.

    Speculation is that they want to use specific divers so they need to rest.

  76. 76.

    Elizabelle

    @raven: Mizzou Bear. LOL. Thank you.

    Ozark: “Bears are opportunists.”

    Loved hearing Mr. and Mrs. Ozark’s voices.

  77. 77.

    satby

    And now the Traitor in Chief is claiming the U.S. government is providing massive help. Now that some have been recovered alive.
    He’s so disgusting.

  79. 79.

    satby

    Speculation that they sedated the boys to swim them out via the other divers. So many conflicting reports.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    @satby: I was wondering. Sedating the kids would seem to make it much easier on the divers and the kids.

  82. 82.

    debbie

    @satby:

    Now, now. He’s being humble and not calling attention to himself, just like Ivanka told him to.

  84. 84.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: Not a bad idea, a valium just to suppress the “F or F” reflex a little bit. Not a bad idea at all.

  86. 86.

    Patricia Kayden

    @raven: It kind of looks cute. I’d still be terrified if I saw one so close to where I was staying. When I drive from Norfolk, VA to Elizabeth City, NC, I see signs warning of bears. I pick up the speed because I’d die if I actually saw one near the highway.

  89. 89.

    Gelfling 545

    @JPL: I live in the city. So far we’ve seen a fox and a vulture within the city limits this year. The News has been tracking a wandering bear who was last spotted yesterday in a suburban area that’s about 10 miles outside the city limits. Coyotes have been seen in suburban areas within a few miles of the city. The wild life are making their stand to take back their territory!

  90. 90.

    ruemara

    @satby: None of which is true, I reckon. He’s a terrible person. Morning, Juicers. I have no garden but my lush tabletop plants are doing fine. Except for the rose. I seem to be a rose murderer.

  93. 93.

    Baud

    @satby:

    From what I read most of the non-Thai divers are from Europe. I don’t know what the U.S. contribution is.

    Trump is scum.

  94. 94.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @geg6: Having worn one on several 12-24 hr survey trips, I really hate wet suits. My skin needs to breathe.

  95. 95.

    debbie

    @Gelfling 545:

    I was out walking in my city a couple weeks ago and a fox trotted right by me. It’s somewhat of a legend in the area, but it was my first sighting.

  96. 96.

    Elizabelle

    @WereBear: I was pleasantly surprised the soccer team and coach were found alive, at all. And now 4 are rescued. May everyone survive and be rescued, but already that’s 4 young lives that could have been lost.

    RIP to the brave Thai Seal who perished during the preparations work.

  97. 97.

    Amir Khalid

    Per the BBC, Trump is tweeting that “The US is working very closely with the Government of Thailand” on the rescue. Any confirmation/refutation on this?

  99. 99.

    geg6

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Yes, very uncomfortable. Got certified in one, though. A quarry dive just up the road from here. It was very early summer and water temp was in the high 40s. Froze my ass off.

  101. 101.

    TS (the original)

    @raven: thank you – after that I am quite pleased all we have to deal with are snakes and spiders.

  102. 102.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud:

    I don’t know what the U.S. contribution is.

    Satellite pictures, because they tell you all you need to know..

    ETA just in case it isn’t obvious, s//s

  104. 104.

    TS (the original)

    @satby:

    And now the Traitor in Chief is claiming the U.S. government is providing massive help

    Like the help he provided to Puerto Rico

  105. 105.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @geg6: I went canyoning in December in Mallorca. I gave my youngest my 5 mil and wore my 3 mil. Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig mistake. I could always make another child.

  106. 106.

    oldgold

    Now, to free the thousands of separated children trapped in the Trumpian Bureaucratic Cave.

  109. 109.

    Platonailedit

    BBC liveblog mentions an australian doc inside the cave who decides which of the weakest boys go first. Zero mention about any american help. The scummy thug is lying as usual and taking credit for someone else’s work.

  111. 111.

    Rich Webb

    Sewer stuff. Background, old house (former Navy housing built in the 1930’s) and correspondingly old utilities. What has worked for me when there was a nearly complete blockage was to (1) Allow the pipes to drain completely. That means several days with no water down the drains; once the standpipes drain there’s only the pressure head from the run vs rise in the pipes so it’s slow. Shower and poop at the office. Or wash using a basin and washcloth, which actually does a darned good job with a little practice, and dump the water outside. (2) Pour two or three 64-oz jugs of Roebic Main Line cleaner down the drain. (Use PPE: gloves, eye protection, face shield. Strong alkalies are hazardous, especially to the eyes.) (3) Wait overnight and flush with lots of hot (not boiling!) water.

    Roebic also has a “foaming root killer” which has (knock on whatever magical substance is handy and effective) helped immensely in preventing root ball clogs from forming.

  112. 112.

    satby

    @Rich Webb: Roebic got high marks in septic care stuff when I was living in Michigan. Going to look for the root killer, as that’s a problem in this house.

  113. 113.

    satby

    Lawn successfully mowed, now hose is out and deep watering of transplanted trees and shrubs commencing. My hose end sprayer prefers to take today off, so just the bare hose at the base of each plant, running fairly slowly so it goes into the dirt, not over the top. It’s going to take most of the day, good distraction from the cave drama now suspended and other news of the day. Otherwise I would be sitting inside obsessively refreshing web news sites.

  114. 114.

    J R in WV

    @Patricia Kayden:

    Many years ago, mid 1990s, we had driven up into a more eastern county to meet my mom and dad for dinner at a rustic Italian place. It was a wonderful evening, great food, my parents were great company.

    When we left after a great dessert, the western sunset was spectacular with great rising storm clouds, and we drove into a downpour. The country road, Rt 39 west between Summersville and Gauley Bridge was completely unmowed, the weeds came right up to the pavement.

    We were driving our 1991 Saab 900 and I saw something move in the weeds in a sharp curve, which meant I was down around 35 or so.

    Then the bear lunged out into the blacktop, and I hit it with the right corner of the car, then it spun and it’s rear-end hit the passenger side door. We were shocked and rolling slow when the wife asked “Should we go back to see if the bear was injured?” which was a nice thought but WHUT?

    Pitch dark, thunderstorm, injured bear? No thanks!!

    Door dent popped right out, but the front corner cost something like $1900 to replace broken and bent stuff. I do hope the bear was able to recover…

    Also hit a deer with the Saab years later, amazing how fragile the front of a car really is! We put 250,000 miles on the car, never replaced the clutch, very strong reliable car. Figures they went out of business with GM managing it!!

  115. 115.

    Rich Webb

    @satby: The Roebic foaming root killer has been a real savior here. One usage hint: The contents of the plastic jar tend to compact over time and you really don’t want to be frantically pounding on the bottom to get it to dump into the toilet while the foaming is, well, foaming. They are not kidding with the name! I first decant it all into an old mayonnaise jar so that it’s loose and ready to go. You’ll want to flush & dump in quick succession and get it all into the pipes with one flush. Have a bucket of water standing by to pour into the commode to get the last bits down if the flush doesn’t get it, as waiting for the tank to refill takes too long.

  116. 116.

    Gelfling 545

    @JPL: My tiny lot backs up onto another tiny lot. We’re talking a residential area of 34 x 110 lots surrounded by 2 busy streets here. For most of the 40+ years I’ve lived here, the most exotic wildlife I’ve seen has been squirrels.

  117. 117.

    JWL

    That’s a big bummer. A decade ago, my uncle was obliged to replace a long gas line to his house in unincorporated Napa county, Ca.. As I recall, it cost some 16 grand in total. I do remember that by virtue of a few feet- more of the street needed tearing up, I think was the reason given- it cost my uncle an additional few thousand more than he otherwise would have spent. The pain didm’t stop there, either. When PG&E arrived to green light the new line, my uncle’s furnace got red-tagged, and it cost him another 5 or 6 grand to replace. About all he could do was count his blessings that he had a roof at all..

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