Thanks for the wonderful update! My heart started to speed up a little while reading about your encounter with a bear! I'm intrigued by the podcast you shared. I will definitely give it a listen. I'm curious if they talk about carrying bear spray, as I have heard that it has helped save many people's lives during an encounter with one. I also live in Massachusetts. I am in my second year of "free college" with the MassReconnect program studying Sustainable Agriculture :)
I'm so glad you mentioned bear spray - yes the Bear Biologist I listen to is a huge advocate of it. He says carrying it (and being comfortable using it) is really the number one thing you can do to ensure both you and the bear remain safe, especially in the case of a direct encounter. A study was done in 2008 that looked back at and analyzed data on bear attacks and found that when bear spray was deployed during an attack the human involved was unharmed 98% of the time (and therefore so was the bear because after a bear kills a human, they are almost always hunted and killed. Bear spray wears off after a few hours.) whereas firearms were not nearly as effective at diffusing the situation and often resulted in humans being harmed as well as bears - a lose-lose.
And thank you for sharing about your experience with Massachusetts free education - I am obsessed. Feeling really lucky to live in this beautiful state and benefit from commitment to education - truly wish these types of programs were available all over the US.
Thank you for sharing all the links, and your photo inspiration for home decor! Your color plans sound lovely! And yes, biology and chemistry is mighty useful in wildcrafting!😍
Thanks for the wonderful update! My heart started to speed up a little while reading about your encounter with a bear! I'm intrigued by the podcast you shared. I will definitely give it a listen. I'm curious if they talk about carrying bear spray, as I have heard that it has helped save many people's lives during an encounter with one. I also live in Massachusetts. I am in my second year of "free college" with the MassReconnect program studying Sustainable Agriculture :)
I'm so glad you mentioned bear spray - yes the Bear Biologist I listen to is a huge advocate of it. He says carrying it (and being comfortable using it) is really the number one thing you can do to ensure both you and the bear remain safe, especially in the case of a direct encounter. A study was done in 2008 that looked back at and analyzed data on bear attacks and found that when bear spray was deployed during an attack the human involved was unharmed 98% of the time (and therefore so was the bear because after a bear kills a human, they are almost always hunted and killed. Bear spray wears off after a few hours.) whereas firearms were not nearly as effective at diffusing the situation and often resulted in humans being harmed as well as bears - a lose-lose.
And thank you for sharing about your experience with Massachusetts free education - I am obsessed. Feeling really lucky to live in this beautiful state and benefit from commitment to education - truly wish these types of programs were available all over the US.
Thank you for the quality alliterations! Love the description of your bear encounter and hearing about back to school
Hehe, thanks for noticing <33
I love this update :)
Thank you for sharing all the links, and your photo inspiration for home decor! Your color plans sound lovely! And yes, biology and chemistry is mighty useful in wildcrafting!😍