Happiness is ... playing in a puddle

Though this photo (and most of my bear shots) looks very close, the bear was still way down the road. Several other cars stopped briefly and we had to move and pull over in front of them all This made it impossible for me to twist around in my seat and get any photos. Seeing a Bear having fun in a small puddle was such an unusual sight, that I just had to open my car door so that I could capture this amazing moment. The Bear lay right down on its side, too, thoroughly enjoying its relaxing moments. I don't think a bear that is stressed in any way would do something like this, knowing that there were several people nearby. What a treat for us.

However, there is one thing (actually 2?) wrong about this photo (thanks, Larry, for the reminder of what I had meant, last night, to add) - the empty can that had been thrown away by someone at some time. Why can't people simple put their empty cans into a garbage bag inside their vehicle and then throw them out (preferably recycle!) at a convenient time? If I'm willing to pick up and drive with YOUR garbage in my car, then it's a great pity if you can't keep your own litter to yourself. Quite apart from spoiling the look of our beautiful scenery, empty cans and bottles can be dangerous to our precious wildlife. Please THINK after you DRINK!

Yesterday, when I took a look at more of my Bear photos, I discovered, to my huge disappointment, that so many of them were useless because they were taken from inside the car. I'm always very conscious of the fact that I have to be very careful to avoid catching the window in my shots. I don't know why many cars have back windows that don't wind right down, but leave a few inches showing - something to do with child safety maybe? Maybe my own car is the same. Many times before, in my own car and other people's vehicles, many of my shots taken from inside the car just don't come out, even when my lens is out past the window. Fortunately, a number of my Bear photos did come out, but I would guess something like half of my shots didn't : (

My friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, left Calgary early morning on Wednesday (14 May 2014) and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight (Thursday, 15 May 2014), that my friends dropped me off at home after two long, wonderful days in the Rocky Mountains, west of the city. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! Though we were hoping to see at least one Bear, I was happy as can be to see absolutely anything beautiful : )

Over the two days, we had 7 bear sightings, with three definitely different Black Bears (no Grizzlies), and possibly four. The rest of the sightings were of Bears we had already seen. My friends are good at telling individual bears, often by a certain scar and, of course, the actual location. Many of the bears we see, they have seen before. Basically, it's all about timing, as with any wildlife. A few minutes earlier or later and we would have missed seeing something special. We just happened to be lucky. All wildlife/nature photographers know it's all about timing : )