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In December 2003, ater a heart rending visit to Armenia on behalf of CESO and while feeling somwhat useless, I read "Heart Sense" by Paula Reeves. She said that if one had an unfulfilled creative dream of any kind, one should do something a bout it NOW. She motivated me to do just that by registering for painting courses at Cariboo College/Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops in January 2004 for three semesters.

Painting had always been my dream. With occasional spurts of painting and drawing (lots of decoraions in notebooks for whatever school work I was doing) and except for a month or so of daily painting in Ibiza, Spain, in 1964, I had managed to avoid doing that which all my life I had felt I really should do.

The hour and a half drive and four hours of busy class work one day a week were easy. UCC/TRU was lots fun. The fellow students, the work and even the cafeteria were all fun and inspiring. Since then, I have been filling house and studio with canvases, doorskin boards, paints, pastels, easels, etc. It's all starting to overflow but of course has all been well worth it.

I don't kow if her book is still available but the inspiration I found from it has been invluable. I may still have a copy and would be happy (if i can find it) to send it to anyone who might want it.

Some 20 or so years ago when I was dog-less for a few years, I took a photo of a bear cub with his nose pressed to my front window. This was before digital cameras, so of course so I can't put it here and another time, without a camera with me, I watched a bear playing in the beaver pond which lies just below my studio. He was splashing and circling in the middle of the pond all by himself for several minutes, unaware that I was watching and seemed to be having a great time!

Every September, there is an on-going battle for the apples on my wonderful, single apple tree. I've decorated the tree with all kind of hanging junk and poles and even bells but a well motivated bear can usually find a way to clear the tree of apples very quickly. Dogs are helpful.

Two or three years ago a brown mother with cub charged me one afternoon when I came out on the deck. Luckily, I frightened her off by banging loudly on the floor with a broom handels. She was quite aggressive and came at me later when I was picking up windfalls from under the tree. However, when I walk in the woods, I make noise (it's a good chance to sing) and I do feel fairly safe as Bazza is racing around nearby and except for at apple time, I expect our separate routes are respected.

It may take some time for me to adjust the above image. I am on slow computer learning curve.

My history with bears is quite long and often amusing. Of the four bear portraits in my animal gallery, the first of them "Bear in my Apple Tree" was the most fun. He was not concerned that I was standing on my deck photographing him. He had cleaned out most of the apples by that time. The two small bear images were taken at another time. The final portrait (the one here pictured) was of a young bear whom I had surprised as he/she was bouncing up and down in the Hawthorn tree that is barely 20 feet from the side door of my house. He woofed at me a bit after I had taken several photos, but didn't leave for a little while.

Another time, I surprised a mother bear with three cubs when I was returning on foot from a visit to my sister's and brother-in-law's place. Because I was between Mum and her cubs, she charged me. I hid behind a telephone pole and called to my brother-in-law for help. He came with his truck very quickly and I was safe. Unfortunately, I later saw that mother bear was wounded, with only one cub. Bear hunters are sometimes about.