I fear.....

This is what I fear IF we ever decide to put in a pool.....LOL. I feel like Stephen Colbert (he has a bear phobia).

Bears....really!

If you know where we live, then you know that we are surrounded by 19 or so acres of pine trees. And when the weather is nice, we like to walk out there. Bruce keeps a clear path cut all around the perimeter, and it makes a nice place to take a stroll. But....we have bear. Is "bear" also plural? Or is it "bears"? I don't know, but whatever. We have black bear all over around this part of the state. People see them all the time right here around our house. And yesterday when I took a nice little stroll all by myself I got to the very back of the property, as far from our house, or civilization, as I could possibly be, where nobody could hear me scream (well, maybe....maybe not, but it IS way back there and its really isolated)...and suddenly I heard a loud crashing through the trees like something quite large was spooked and running away from me. It could have been a deer. We have loads of those too. But a few seconds later I came upon a huge, um, well a ginormous pile O' poop. And it was NOT from any deer, of that I am certain. Nor was it from the multitudes of bunnies we see all over the place. It looked more like an elephant had done its business there at the edge of the woods. I didn't imagine it. Bruce took a walk back there this evening and came back talking about the huge "pile" he saw on the path, too.

And now, I am spooked. Its where I like to walk. But is it safe? I mean, I realize there could be anything or anybody (thinking murderous axe wielding maniacs because I watch WAY too many scary movies) out there hiding in the trees. But the bear thing is NOT my imagination running away with me. They are real and they are out there. I am just trying to guesstimate the risk factor right now. I stay on the path, out of the trees. I walk in daylight. I read that black bears are people-shy and rarely attack humans. And still I am feeling nervous about being back there, especially by myself. Sometimes Bruce walks with me, but not always.......What would you do? I think I need to find a new place to walk.

ETA: After doing a web search of what bear... um, poop actually looks like (yes, I know its such an exciting way to spend an evening, right?), we have decided that it is definitely bear droppings. Or, as I learned tonight, known also as bear scat. Yay! I am already phobic of snakes. At this rate I might never leave my house again.

Allergies are killing me

I wrote a post and then it disappeared. Stupid blogger. Ok, so its been a while since I have gotten any glitches so maybe it is getting better than it used to be. But whatever....

The gist of it is that I am having a fit with allergies right now. Pollen is everywhere outside. There is a yellowish powdery coating on everything. I am so stuffy with itchy eyes, sore throat and these awful sneezing fits that go on forever.
The worst is when I am driving....yikes. Well, thats not necessarily when the worst attacks occur....but it IS the worst most inconvenient time/place to have a sneeze-fest. So scary. I have been taking Claritin for days now but its not doing much. Benadryl at night seems to help me sleep but I can't take it during the day. That stuff knocks me out cold. I am going to pick up some OTC Zyrtec or Allegra today and see if that works any better for me.

I did a web search on allergy medication reviews. Its so confusing because the results are pretty evenly split between Claritin, Zyrtec, and Allegra. It seems to depend on the person. What works for one person just may not work as well for someone else. I guess its going to be a trial and error thing to find the right one for me. I am fairly sure that Claritin is not it though. I can't even tell that I am taking anything. Ugh....this is so not fun. Any suggestions? Anything work really well for you? I am feeling a bit desperate so any help would be appreciated!