While on a walk with Sadie the other day, one of my neighbors approached me asking whether or not I have seen the black bear that has been spotted in our neighborhood.
Yup. A bear. In our neighborhood.
We’re definitely not in Orlando anymore!
Clearly my face showed signs of shock because she went on to give me the details, telling me that a black bear has been spotted digging in the trashcans. She then told me that a while back another neighbor saw a panther.
Apparently they heard rustling in their backyard one night and shone a flashlight outside through their screened-in porch to see what was causing the ruckus. The eyes of a opossum reflected back, but then behind the opossum’s eyes, were the reflective eyes of a panther.
Equipped with this new bit of information, Ryan and I were even more alert than usual on a short three-mile hike with Sadie after dinner (during the dangerous “Feeding Time”) today.
Someone was completely oblivious to the perils lurking in the forest…
Dinner
Tonight’s dinner was a fast one because we were anxious to hit the trails before sunset.
Pasta is always a quick option and we ate bowls of whole wheat pasta shells, topped with chicken, spinach and marinara.
I also stirred some shredded cheese into the dish which melted into the marinara sauce, making it a little thicker and more creamy than usual.
Before and after our hike I also chugged a bottle of Metromint water that the company sent me to try a few weeks ago.
(Clearly pajama time occurred immediately after our hike.)
Metromint uses the essential oil from mint to flavor the water which makes each bottle taste incredibly refreshing.
I love waters with a little somethin’ extra and often add my own fresh mint to tap water, so these bottles were right up my alley.
Over the course of the past week or so I’ve tried a bunch of different Metromint varieties and my two favorites were lemonmint and orangemint. The flavors were vibrant and refreshing yet subtle enough to drink every day. The only flavor I didn’t like was the peppermint. For some reason the flavor struck me as almost medicinal, but I still drank the whole thing, so it obviously wasn’t too off putting.
And on that note I’m off to brush my teeth, read Delirium in bed and dream of the black bears roaming freely just outside our house.
I hope you have a restful night!
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Ooo! I just finished Delirium last night! Enjoy!
Yipes! Stay safe!
Oh, and it’s always pajama time ASAP at my house.
that water sounds so good!!
We’ve only been dealing with ticks here in NH – no bears! It’s my first time being in an area with ticks and I am so paranoid! I think Teddy is killing them because they bite him and die due to his frontline. Anyways, I’m reading Delirium too – just started but so far, so good.
A PANTHER!?!?? Oh gosh that would totally freak me out! I’m all about wildlife, but panthers make me think of a Laura Ingles Wilder book I read when I was little and her dad was chased by a panther! Haha I guess it’s scarred me because I’m so freaked out by them! The bear though? bring it on!
Your pajamas are too cute haha. I would be a bit freaked at learning about the panther and bear sighting. Yikes
Julie! When you finish Delirium, you must read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy! Hop on the bandwagon 🙂
i’ve heard it’s quite sexaaay!
oh my gosh. it’s INSANE.
Metromint water is amazing. I could mainline that stuff.
Wow that is crazy about the bear and panther! I can’t even imagine what I would do If I was told that information. I still think you are extremely brave hiking around snakes and alligators 🙂
The orangemint flavor of the Metromint water sounds fantastic.
It’s always pajama time around here!!!
And please don’t get eaten by wild animals!!!
I love having wildlife around us, but after several coyete sightings, we got kinda scared, especially for our pets! Now we always keep our cats and dog inside when it’s dark!
Ahhhh how can you go out there with black bears and panthers! You should bring some protection, not sure what though. Knife? Pepper spray? Be careful!
we always bring pepperspray on every hike! 🙂
they make bear spray that you can buy and carry with you. the sell it at outdoors stores like REI or Dick’s or i’m sure you can find it online. I worked a summer in Montana and they’re are lots of bears there and i carried it with me whenever I went hiking thank goodness never had to use it. Stay safe chica!
I live in suburban NJ. The area mostly deals with deer, crazy squirels, a racoon or two, just to name a few. Not that long ago our town made the big news channels because of a baby cub asleep in a tree. Didn’t do any harm, but still the thought of a bear in our area did get me a little nervous. Stay safe.
Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. -Dwight Schrute (a la Jim Halpert)
I think you’d pre-win the Cruise MVP award if you took on the bear (and lived to tell the tale.) In case you’re looking to sweep…
LOL to your dwight quote!
Super creepy about the Panther. For the bear, I learned a rhyme once since we go hiking and camping in the Rockies a lot.
If it’s black fight back. If it has a hump, turn into a lump! Black bears can be brown, too, but they won’t have the big humpback.
When I was in college, I was on my way to church and wound up about 10 feet away from a mama black bear sifting through our garbage. Needless to say, I didn’t make it to mass that night!
If Sadie is not worried, I would not be worried. Dogs are always right 🙂
That’s one of my fave suppers! So much comfort in one bowl 🙂 enjoy your night!
I love metromint..they have a chocolate flavored one that ALMOST satisfys my chocolate cravings.
When I first moved to New Jersey, there was a picture in the local paper about a black bear at one of the nearby restaurant parking lots. It definitely brought a bit of concern to my parents who were about to leave their daughter in this completely new place…
I hope you enjoy Delirium! I just started reading its sequel, Pandemonium!
You and Ryan must have no fear or something haha. I would run inside and lock myself away. But I guess it’s a good thing 🙂 Hopefully the bear or panther doesn’t get to “friendly” and have to be killed…It’s sad how humans (us!) are taking over their homes.
I went on a hike with my roommates in college and we saw a mama bear and baby bear from kinda far away! It was the coolest and scariest thing ever to see them in their habitat- but needless to say we booked it down the trail. 🙂
Those waters are so good, but I can’t do the peppermint (for the same reason you said) or the chocolate. I love the spearmint one though!
Oh my goodness, that is freaky! You must be keeping much more of a lookout now! I hope the bears/panthers are gone from the area for the time being, and that you don’t see any. We have had tons of cougar sightings where I live, which freaks me out if I go out by myself in the morning or nght.
I have tried (and liked) metro mint water too, although I’m with you on the peppermint flavor – I felt like I had swallowed some super strong mints or gum that was lodged in my throat!
This water sounds great – love flavored water but not so much the aspartame!
The dinner you made looks delicious!! I have a weakness for pasta and I think I’ll have to try something like this SOON!!!
Wow, and I thought the only thing you had to worry about in Florida was alligators! Yikes!
Those waters sound delicious! 🙂
Does metromint have a distinct mint flavor or is it just a hint? Have you tried the chocolate flavor?
the chocolate one was pretty good, but in the future i’ll be buying the lemon, orange and spearmint flavors. they were my favorite! and the mint is definitely a light flavor. not too heavy at all!
Your dinner sounds yummy! I love adding cheese to marinara sauce to make it creamy. 🙂
It’s always PJ time as soon as I get home from work. I love putting comfy clothes on to relax and cook dinner in.
I’ve spotted a black bear in orlando- on the side of I4. tons of foxes as well. fla wildlife enjoys the city life lol.
Hi Julie,
Enjoy your blog. I’ve heard you mention jazzercise. Is it like zumba?
Have a great vacation!
hi kimberly! i like jazzercise a lot more than zumba, actually! it’s more aerobic (vs. dance) and SO fun. if you like zumba, i bet you’d like jazzercise, too! i find jazzercise easier to follow than zumba.
That’s great because I have 2 left feet…ha. Thanks!
I’m all for wildlife, I loved that there was a bunny in our yard yesterday, but a bear would freak me out!! Watch out for him. I’m sure he’s not as friendly as Yogi.
holy cow, that’s terrifying! The scariest thing we have in Dallas are some mean pigeons and the occasional rabid squirrel 🙂 I guess I was always under the assumption that FL was only full of crocs and gators, but I guess that’s just as offensive as people who think we Texans ride horses to work lol. Hopefully all your strength training will come in handy in a bear fight??
Wow! That’s nuts! Your pasta looks delish. We had almost the same thing the other night but with artichokes instead of chicken!
I Love Metromint!I like the Cherry and Spearmint best. They’ve got a chocolate mint that I don’t care for. It tastes almost…waxy? I guess. Don’t know how else to describe it.
I blew right through Delirium! And subsequently Pandemonium! It’s my favorite dystopian series aside from Hunger Games!
Oh my gosh Pandemonium was soooo much better than Delirium! I can’t wait to read the third book in the series.
I grew up in orlando and we used to spot black bears all the time. We lived in Dr phillips which is a very busy populated part of orlando….it was scary!
Ooh I’m reading Delirium now! I add mint to my water all the time, mint is my favorite (and so are mojitos).