It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

I shared on my blog yesterday about my black bear incident on my back porch. I’ll copy what I wrote here:

This past week was interesting if only for one thing that happened to me — something I knew would happen one day, but luckily it wasn’t as dramatic as I worried it would be.

I don’t have any photos, but it finally happened — I went out to my back door to get my cats in, and there was a black bear on the back porch. A black bear. Yes.  Maybe three feet away from me but luckily there was a glass door between us.
 
I thought I was seeing a reflection on my door or just a shadow, and then the shadow moved! It hopped off the porch and took off across the yard while my cat watched from the other side of the yard, apparently amused by how I gasped, slammed the door shut and locked it (because the bear was clearly going to open it again) and then tried to get Little Miss to come see it by gasping. “Bear. Bear. Little Miss. See. Come.”

It was gone before she got there, sadly.

The Husband and The Boy were both upstairs so I couldn’t call for them.

We are now investing in a ring camera so I can get a better look before any of us step out there from now on.

I did a search on Facebook in a group that focuses on bear sightings in our area to see if anyone had seen our bear and learned that bear sightings are up. One reason they are up is because the state game commission has changed the weigh-in locations for bears when they are hunted. This means hunters aren’t as interested in hunting bears. They have to drive them too far to weigh them. Since the bears aren’t being as hunted as much, there is more of them. More of them means more of them are wandering into backyards and small towns.

Hopefully, we can keep ourselves and the bears safe. In most cases bears leave as soon as they see a person and we’re lucky that black bears aren’t like their grizzly bear cousins who sometimes do attack people (but probably rarely).

A couple of quick reminders:

I have a monthly book-related link party if you are interested. You can find the A Good Book and A Cup of Tea link party at the top of my page or here. It is for posts about books that you are reading, have read, book reviews — just anything book-related.

Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I are still holding Drop-In Crafternoons once or twice a month.

We will be holding another one in August, but I am not sure when yet.

The Crafternoons are events where we gather on Zoom and craft at our respective homes and chat while we work on various projects. We are calling them drop-in crafternoons because you can drop in and out during the time we are on (usually from about 1 to 3 p.m. EST US time). No need to stay the whole time if you can’t. Come late if you want or leave early.

If you want to join in, email Erin at crackcrumblife@gmail.com and she will add you to the mailing list.

Last week I finished Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis and A Murder She Wrote Mystery: Killer in the Kitchen by Don Blain.

I am currently reading the 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson and Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse.

I’m also reading a couple of chapters of Dave Barry Isn’t Taking This Sitting Down by Dave Barry a day.

I also just started The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.

Soon I hope to read The Clue of the Broken Blade, a Hardy Boys Mystery, and Password to Larkspur Lane, a Nancy Drew Mystery.

This past week I watched several episodes of Murder She Wrote and Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I also watched an episode of The Danny Thomas Show (which I had never seen before).

I enjoyed a movie with John Wayne called Without Reservations and then watched   for my Summer of Angela feature.

On the blog:

• Saturday Afternoon Chat: I finally saw a black bear — right on my back porch!
• Summer of Angela: Death on the Nile (1978) Without spoilers
• Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot July 25
• Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Books Set in Pennsylvania
• Book review: The Clue in the Diary (A Nancy Drew Mystery)

What the Algorithm Did To Our Words and Why It Matters by Lisa’s Notes

Words for Wednesday: Hazardous Driving by Mama’s Empty Nest

My Love for Laurie Colwin Books by Scratch Made Food for Hungry People

Reading to Cats by Cat’s Wire

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

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This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at  Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, The Sunday Salon with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathyrn at The Book Date. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality.

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Lisa R. Howeler is a blogger, homeschool mom, and writes cozy mysteries.

You can find her Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find her on Instagram and YouTube.