Mindful of the wildlife, play along this summer

By Laura Clark

Published: June 11, 2008

This weekend my fiancé, Chet, earned his most prestigious country-living badge.

On his mid-morning run near the George Washington National Forest, he rounded a corner and met a bear. Well, not handshake-like. The bear was about 40 yards from him.

Chet bravely crouched in the bushes as the bear moseyed across the road. The bear didn’t see him, and as Chet said, “I must have been downwind.”

Turns out there’s a mama bear and two cubs that live near us ... and we’ve got to come up with some new jogging routes that respect the bears’ territory.

I don’t share this story to scare anyone. I imagine plenty of readers have had bear sightings, as opposed to bear encounters. (Feel free to send us your bear story — as well as advice.)

We’ve always been mindful of safety out in the woods, but it is kind of hard to whistle while you run, much less carry an 8-inch tall canister of bear deterrent. That is what it’s called, deterrent. Kind of weak, huh?

Anyway, maybe it’s fitting that my first few summer adventures are in more civilized environments. Last summer’s column centered on exploring the outdoors. There’s plenty more of that this summer, but Honeysuckle Diaries is transitioning to Play Along to include more activities for adults and kids to get out and do.

I hope the heat hasn’t made you too irritable to be open to sharing your favorite activities and trying new ones. With the rising price of — oh, everything—beach vacations and such plans may have been put on hold. For entertainment, for peace and quiet, you don’t have to go far.

If you’ve lived in Amherst or Nelson county all your life, you may take for granted what amazes me on a daily basis.

There are tons of things to do close to home that your family can enjoy. And I’m not talking about playing Wii. Some of them are free, and most of them will cost less than a tank of gas and some pb&js.

Smother your too-much-work-not-enough-time cynic with sunscreen and get out there. Unless you meet a bear, you’ll probably have a surprisingly good time.

Please send ideas and stories to or P.O. Box 90, Amherst, VA 24521. You can reach our office by calling (434) 946-7195.