Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Only in Canada...

Here's my lazy post for today before I roll up my sleeves
and glue my fingertips to a keyboard. Thanks for sending these snapshots, Roberta. You made today's blog post a breeze!

Some people build
swimming pools in their
back yards, but outdoor
pools in the town of Fort McMurray, Alberta just
won't work.


One family living on the outskirts of town built a sturdy playground for their sons with smooth stones all around it to avoid knee scrapes and other injuries.


They finished building it
Sat evening and the next morning, as mom woke the boys to let them go out and play, this is what she saw from the upstairs window.

20 comments:

The Anti-Wife said...

How thoughtful of them to build a playground for the bears! It's probably quite dangerous, but it sure is cute! Are there 4 bears?

Therese said...

Holly, this is so charming! And it takes me back to my days living on the north shore of Lake Superior.

I never caught bears playing on our playset, just strolling through the yard. But I wonder...

Good luck with today's writing!

Anonymous said...

That is so cute! The cubs figured they hit the jackpot. :) Thanks for the smile and good luck with the writing today.

Melissa Amateis said...

Bears, oh my! Ha! I would love to see that.

Have fun writing today!

Anonymous said...

I wooda crapped myself
if I were that woman!!
Four bears in her backyard?
Cute, but (shiver) I think
I'd be listing my house,

Holly Kennedy said...

Anti-wife -- I felt the same way when I saw these snapshots. I went from HOW ADORABLE to a shiver when I considered two little boys playing near this potential danger.

Therese -- My neighbor two doors down found a bear asleep in her empty hot tub one morning last year. We also have cougar sightings aroudn here often. Needless to say, my boys are NOT allowed in the bush or on the bike trails on their own.


Brenda -- They do look tickled, don't they?!

Melissa -- Thanks for your good wishes on the writing side of things (you, too, TF)!!

Wordman17 -- I think I'd be installing a 10 foot electric fence myself :)

Anonymous said...

*lol* It's really hard to get past how cute these guys are to realize how dangerous they could be.

They look like they're having a blast! Great photos

Kim Rossi Stagliano said...

Oh my gosh!! You have to sell those photos to, to, oh heck I don't know! But they are fabulous! So, does a bear shit in the playground or what? :)

Robin L. said...

Aw, the bears are having so much fun!

Larramie said...

Gosh, isn't it amazing how the bears appear to know exactly what the playground equipment is for? Nice of them to "test" it all out.

LadyBronco said...

I'm seconding you Holly, on the 10' electrical fence.

I would be petrified for my kids, and I don't know if I would ever let the outside without armed supervision ever again.

Anissa said...

Holy crap! I cannot even imagine.

Wendy Roberts said...

Wow! Positively amazing. Thanks for a chuckle :)

Holly Kennedy said...

Larramie -- they DO seem to know what it's all to be used for, don't they? They look EXCITED!
Too fun...

Kim -- I said the same thing. Whoever took these shots should send them to the manufacturer of the playground equipment. Can you imagine the fun/intriguing spin they could put on it from a marketing standpoint? Something like... SEE!? NO ONE CAN RESIST OUR PLAYGROUNDS!

Anonymous said...

I love these photos. They are terrifying on one hand and yet I find myself smiling as I look at the innocence of these animals.

Thanks for posting them

Anonymous said...

I wonder if someone trapped them and removed them from the area later on? Cold hard shiver.

Bear maulings can be horrific.
I can't imagine living this close to them with my children.

Heidi the Hick said...

That's really great that the kids get learn how to interact with animals in a nice safe playground like that.

GACK!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Holy crip!

And I thought rig pigs were the only thing you had to look out for in Fort Mac!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Robison said...

That's like where I live. Last winter a big bear and a little bear wandered into the front yard, just outside our son's room.

And then, later in the year, a moose came down the driveway and then crashed off into the woods, too.

Thirty years ago, when I drove my motorcycle through rural Canada, I was advised to carry at least a 30-06 rifle anywhere in the Northwest Territories and on the "(at the time) unpaved Alaska Highway. But nothing ever attacked me there.