Lou the bobcat - an aging old animal

Lou circled around to Boris' farm again, he was hungry, he was always hungry, though he had no idea why. Luckily for Lou, he had good friends who were willing to help an old bobcat, he just couldn't remember who, but he remembered where and this afternoon he was near a scent that seemed very familiar to him, something that meant not only food but a place where he could relax and not be anxious about the confusing world around him.

In many ecosystems of this biome a bobcat of Lou's age would have gone out to the local Free Game Preserve on their own and returned to the earth, but here Lou was a local hero who had suffered a serious concussion in his younger days saving the lives of so many young animals, now in his old age it seemed fitting that the community take care of him since it was really could not remember anything about the Free Game Preserve, or even what he had done five minutes ago.

Driven by the need to satisfy his bodily urges, Lou followed his nose when he was hungry, found water when he was thirsty, and rested where ever he fell after pacing in circle for hours at a time.

As he approached Boris' house, he could smell a pot of porridge that was cooking on his friend's stove. Boris spotted the old bobcat and ushered him in, presented him with a large bowl of porridge filled tenderized meat bits and goat cheese, and sat down to watch his old friend eat.

Lou was not a neat eater by any means, his old teeth were sore at the gums and he would shake his head as he ate, then circle the bowl before diving back in for another bite. This left a large ring of food bits around the bowl, and Boris didn't mind cleaning up for his friend, and did so in front of the cubs who were all watching from the edge of the room. With luck they would learn compassion for old animals and take care of the elderly when they grew up.

After eating his fill, Lou drank heavily from the water trough beside the door and looked around for a place to lay down. Boris had brought in and arranged a soft bed of straw and warm blanket in the corner of the living room near the hearth. Here Lou lay down and fell into a deep slumber, snoring loudly, and contently after a good meal in a safe home.

Environments

Skinny finished up the meal that Boris had served him, there was nothing like a big meaty bowl of porridge and Boris was the best cook on this side of the pass. The meal was followed by some maple pastries and an hour more of socializing before Skinny said good night and headed back toward the Truck Road.

It was almost summer and the daylight lasted well into the evening giving Skinny a chance to admire the farm as he walked back to his motorcycle.  It was a long walk, but well worth it to visit a good friend and see the workings of the farm and forest once again.  

Skinny had time to wonder that maybe he was spending too much time indoors working in the IT department of his company and for the University.  Maybe it was time to take an extended vacation, not that he wanted to take up the wild life, but to reestablish his connections to the environments in this biome that had all of the things he needed to survive.

Pollen

Skinny walked up the path toward Boris' house, he had left his motorcycle in the parking area on the Truck Road since the farm area between the mountains was strictly a walking zone, no motorized vehicles were allowed here.  It was the end of the Spring semester and Boris needed to submit his grades to the University, but his farm was out of range of the closest cell phone tower and he didn't use the internet, he preferred a low tech lifestyle that gave the students who worked for him a chance to really see and appreciate the environment around them.  The University knew this and sent Skinny to pick up the grades and bring them back.  

Having adapted to city life, Skinny only spent a minimum of time outdoors, mostly when on a family hunt in the Free Game Preserve outside the city. The long walk from the Truck Road was taking its toll on his nose, he was sniffling and sneezing so much that he had to stop repeatedly and clear his head.  For a short time he thought that he had come down with the virus that his brother, Shifty, had last year, but when he walked straight into a pollen cloud that was blowing out of a pine grove, Skinny realized that his sinuses had fallen victim to the reproductive processes of the local forest.

 

Sunshine after a week of rain.

Boris was happy to see the sun today, after several weeks of rainy, cold weather.  Finally his garden was starting to grow. The early crop of radishes and lettuce had sprouted and seemed to reach upward as he watched, toward the sunlight in effort to increase photosynthesis.  This made Boris glad to be a farmer, the constant change of the season allowed the different types of food available as the garden progressed though the late Spring and early Summer. 

Soon there would be small radishes and leafy salads to go with his soups and porridges.

 

Len the bobcat and his long decline

Boris' friend, Len, showed up today. An elderly bobcat who was near the end of his days.  The local community of animals kept an eye on and took good care of Len, since he had developed dementia from a nasty blow to his head while rescuing a group of young animals from a spring flood. He had been hit in the head by a log that just missed the last pup that he pulled from the water, he was able to pull himself ashore but suffered for weeks after with concussion, and now in his old age had developed dementia.  He walked in circles around the forest, forgetting where he was, or going.  The community animals would bring him food and leave it in front of him.  His nose still knew food and he would eat anything that was left for him.

He knew his friend Boris, more by scent and the calm, and patient manner that Boris always met him with, today though, Len seemed a bit more off than usual and Boris was concerned that something more had progressed in Len's long decline.

If a bear were a professor...

Being a professor at the Temperate Forest University, Boris had to spend a few days a month in Loupe Falls, to meet with students in his office and to turn in grades and reports. 

 Occasionally, he gave a guest lecture on botany or the local environmental changes that were being studied by his graduate assistants, but most of the time he was in his outdoor classroom, teaching students through hands on learning, at his farm.

 I

Orphan bear cubs

Boris was caught in a spring down pour while out in the garden with the three yearling cubs, his daughter Izzy, and the two male cubs. All three were recovering well from their near starvation when they came out of hibernation, due to the lack of enough food in the forest last fall.

The two year drought seemed to be ending and Boris would note this in his weather journal later that evening, now he was showing the young bears the finer points of planting peas and early greens in the garden. Izzy was quite attentive to what was happening and the male cubs showed some curiosity that what they were doing was about food. Loosing interest quickly as any young animal would, the two male cubs tumbled off into the tall grass and began wrestling and testing their muscles against each other.

Izzy stayed with her father until the section they were working on was planted, then she too headed into the tall grass to play. Female bears need good muscles too, and Izzy was quick to pin one of the boys in a good wrestle hold. They tumbled and played for what seemed like a long time, then Boris called them all in for dinner, porridge again, and what a porridge it was filled with all kinds of good and healthy things for a growing bear cub, including a bit of maple syrup for taste.