The Bears of Stone Place

Thank you for joining in the Bear Hunt!   With restrictions easing, the call for bear hunts has evaporated. Children are back to school and childcare,  so the Bears of Stone Place have decided it is time to hibernate. But...before you go, let me share a story.  This is a story written by one of the old people who share the house  with the Bears of Stone Place Dedicated to  the children and families who went on Bear Hunts during the COVID-19 restrictions of 2020 and to  emergency workers worldwide.   No Ordinary Time In a time not so long ago, people stayed home. Many got sick and some even died. It was no ordinary time. Somewhere in this ‘stay at home’ world, not far from a large city, a beam of joy shimmered through the trees into Stone Place. This was no ordinary street. This was the home of the Bears of Stone Place.   From a dark cupboard unopened for years, six eyes of three once loved bears, peered out and scampered into the garden.

The Bears are hoping for a last feed  before heading off into hibernation.

Regional travel is now possible. The Bears of Stone Place went off to stay with their cousins on Main Street. They caught a bus to check out the local attractions   Then the Bears of Main Street reminded them that hibernation was creeping up. They will need to find themselves a warm cave for the winter.

There appears to be danger lurking around Stone Place today. Big Ted should pose no problem, he's off the path.   Dorothy could be the reason for the sign. Can you see Blue Ted anywhere?  The element of surprise is always an advantage!  

It's raining today. The Bears have found the fuzzy felt and are telling each other stories. Big Ted has always dreamed of being a pirate and searching for lost treasure. He told a story of fierce battles to get the map from a rival group of pirates, strange animals and how the success in finding gold meant they could retire to Stone Place. I hope they don't start digging holes in my garden!

The Bears of Stone Place had a farm ei ei o... You need a magnifying glass to see them! Can you find 5 cows, 2 pigs, 2 horses a dog, and a duck ?   Dorothy has her trusted dog ready to round up the cows for milking.

The garden has some surplus autumn produce that the bears are selling today.

 The Bears have been collecting rubbish from the beach. They are trying their hand at collage with varying degrees of success! Big Ted has made a whale- whales are currently migrating north. Blue Ted is making a turtle. Good to see it has 2 front flippers- unlike the one rescued last Wednesday who only had one. The other had been lost, most likely from constriction by fishing line... Dorothy loves the shape of seagulls flying.

The Bears loved reading Twig so much, they are exploring nature and numbers.  Blue Bear recently celebrated a birthday ...and Dorothy went off and found some bugs to make her favourite number.

The Bears read Twig by Aura Parker.    They loved how the bugs wove Heidi a scarf so decided to have a go at weaving.  Dorothy has a collection of leaves that she kept from the raking yesterday.

Autumn leaves fall rake collect compost  Dorothy looks exhausted. It must be all the heavy work taking the leaves to the compost bays.

The Bears are thinking about commuters this morning. With schools back full time, the trains and buses will gradually see an increase in use.  They will need lots of carriages if social distancing is to continue...

Keeping dry seems to be the goal of today! They don't seem too worried that putting an umbrella up indoors will result in bad luck raining down!

What can the Teddies make with pipe cleaners? They are making people. I wonder how Blue Ted will attach the pants to his person. ...I think the glasses suit Big Ted. Blue Ted looks like a pilot. I wonder where his plane is...

The Aussie animals and the kiwi are chatting about when it will be safe to travel across the Tasman.   Big Ted would rather forget the travel for now. He wants Blue Ted and Dorothy to focus on creating a puppet play.

Strong paws are important for rock climbing  and delving into wild honey nests. Today the Bears are strengthening their paws with a bit of fine motor threading.

Public schools are back full time next week.  The suggestion that if people have go to work they should drive rather than use public transport, has led to some interesting discussions with the Bears of Stone Place. Big Ted is concerned there will be nowhere for them to park. Dorothy says it will be fine so long as they all park in their colour coded spots. Blue Ted says that because there are no white spots, all white cars should stay at home! Is there some 'Trumpish' logic creeping into their lexicon?

New guidelines announced today suggest we will be able to visit regional NSW from June 1st. The Teddies are already planning! They are thinking about all their favourite places ... dreaming of the world outside Stone Place.