{"id":6253,"date":"2020-10-26T12:31:23","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T16:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=6253"},"modified":"2020-10-26T12:40:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T16:40:05","slug":"episode-151-bear-hunting-with-the-kids-began-as-a-joke-became-no-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=6253","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 151 BEAR HUNTING WITH THE KIDS…BEGAN AS A JOKE … BECAME NO JOKE"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 151   BEAR HUNTING ON LAKE OF THE WOODS\u2026BEGAN AS A JOKE, TURNED SERIOUS<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Oct. 2020<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This  is  Terry Wickstrom, a good friend and fellow teacher at Parkdale C. I. during the school year.  In the summer he <\/div>\n
travelled to his island on Lake of the Woods where he became a very different person.  Sort of a Grey Owl character if you will.<\/div>\n
And always with a grin and chuckle.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Oct. 2020<\/div>\n

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We were eating breakfast when Wick (Terry Wickstrom) said to the boys:<\/div>\n

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\u201cHow would you like to see a bear today?\u201d<\/div>\n

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They nodded  and  looked at their mother who smiled agreement.<\/div>\n

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The plan was hatched the night before when we were having an outdoor supper<\/div>\n
around  a campfire on a small rock island on Lake of the Woods.<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhy don\u2019t we have some fun tomorrow\u2026take the boys on a bear hunt\u2026make it <\/div>\n
sound real\u2026scare the boys but all in fun.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA game.?  Sounds good to me, Wick.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMarjorie wants to stay with the dogs so they do not get lonely like yesterday\u2019s near disaster.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wick speaking to Kevin and Andrew:<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cBoys, how would you like to go bear hunting today?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDangerous..is it dangerous, Terry?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo.  I will take my gun as protection.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGood, let\u2019s  go.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJump in the canoe\u2026we must be very quiet so the bear does not hear us.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cShhhh!  Getting close to Bear Island now\u2026that\u2019s my name for the island  because<\/div>\n
a bear lives here.   Shhh!  Silent paddling.  Careful getting out. Try not to step on<\/div>\n
twigs\u2026be very quiet.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDo you know why the bear lives here, boys?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBlueberries\u2026lots of  blueberries.  Long ago  there must have been a fire because the<\/div>\n
high point of the island is  clear.  No trees.   Just a great swath of blueberry bushes.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs that why dad is carrying the bucket?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cyes.  We may pick some berries  if the bear allows us to go berry picking.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t shoot the bear with the gun, will you , Terry?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo.  Just scare him \u2026 or her,  could be a momma bear with cubs.  If we see her,<\/div>\n
we will leave fast. Now be very quiet as we climb the hill\u2026step  on moss if you can.<\/div>\n
No snapping twigs.  We will move up slowly.  Maybe your dad can get a  picture if<\/div>\n
the bear if we are far enough away.  Shhhhh!\u201d<\/div>\n

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Bears often appear where you least expect them\u2026except in blueberry patches<\/div>\n
where they often claim ownership.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWick, look here,\u201d  I whispered<\/div>\n
\u201cBear shit\u2026old bear shit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBoys, take a look.  What did the bear  eat?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBlueberries\u2026skins in the shit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t swear, boys.  Proper word is Bear Skat.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs the bear near?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo, this  is  old  bear shit.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And  so  the four of us silently climbed the hill\u2026very quietly.  Wick in the lead  with the<\/div>\n
gun\u2026then the boys\u2026then me with the berry tub.   Our real goal was to get some blueberries<\/div>\n
\u2026we exagerrated the bear just for fun.   We moved silently.  Wick looked  around and  put<\/div>\n
his finger to his mouth.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cShhhh!  Boys\u2026we close to the big blueberry patch\u2026don\u2019t scare the bear.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then Wick stopped abruptly.  No reason to stop as far as I could see.  Wick pointed<\/div>\n
to the ground  at his feet.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan, look here\u2026fresh  bear shit\u2026Today\u2019s bear shit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDo you mean there is a bear here on the island\u2026.a real  bear?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes.  We\u2019ve got to get the hell out of here now.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTurn around  boys\u2026back down to the canoe\u2026be quiet but move<\/div>\n
faster than the climb.  We\u2019ve got company on the island.  A real bear.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBut you said  there was a  bear on the island, Terry.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI did\u2026I know I did.   Your dad  and  I thought we would  make this trip<\/div>\n
into an adventure.  We did not expect a real bear.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCould the bear be down at our canoe?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cNo\u2026bears do not like people much.  I think the bear is on<\/div>\n
the other  side of the island.  But the island is small.  Best we<\/div>\n
get out of here.  The bear may be watching us.  Let\u2019s hope it\u2019s <\/div>\n
not a momma bear with cubs.  Keep  moving.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLucky you brought the rifle, Wick.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot really.  I did not put 22\u2019s in the gun\u2026gun\u2019s are dangerous.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat about berry picking, Terry?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo blueberry picking today, boys.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo blueberry pie!\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And so  the adventure ended.  It was a very small adventure in the great <\/div>\n
scheme of things but it was our adventure\u2026ours!<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan Skeoch<\/div>\n
Oct. 2020<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This is fresh bear dung.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
Here is Wick  with  \u201cthe Devil made me do it\u201d look on his  face.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
This picture reminded me of another adventure we shared with our friends when some hunters decided to see what they<\/div>\n
could kill on our farm.  That will be another Episode.  Susie and Wick are in picture above beside he ladder.   My brother Eric is on the far<\/div>\n
left..  And  Don Hamilton holding his chin.  Louise Joyce is holding the ladder in centre.  All supporters in the mini-crisis.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 151   BEAR HUNTING ON LAKE OF THE WOODS\u2026BEGAN AS A JOKE, TURNED SERIOUS alan skeoch Oct. 2020 This  is  Terry Wickstrom, a good friend and fellow teacher at Parkdale C. I. during the school year.  In the summer he  travelled to his island on Lake of the Woods where he became a very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6253\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}