On that part of southern Alaska that has what looks like a tail sticking out into the Bering Sea is the Katmai National Park, a beautiful wilderness with brown bears and abundant salmon. This past week a terrible scandal hit the annual Fat Bear Contest run by the park rangers. It seems that someone stuffed the ballot boxes with votes for Holly, a very large female, but the fraudulent ballots were caught in time for an honest election.
Fat Bear Week ended yesterday The chief contestants this year were Otis, Holly, Chunk (how appropriate), and Grazer. Each bear has its own favorite fishing spot, looking for the most abundant run of salmon to store up enough fat to get them through hibernation, because a healthy bear will lose 30% of its body weight during hibernation.
So how big is a fat bear? A typical male brown bear can weigh up to 1500 pounds with a height of five feet on all fours and ten when standing on its hind legs. The females are about 20% smaller. This is no small animal but one just as important to the ecosystem as every other creature in the Park. God shows beauty in many different ways.
Prayer for the Day
As the winds of the north will soon come down upon us, O God,
We breathe in the few remaining days of warmth;
In the cool mornings we feel the warning of impending cold,
And pull the collars of our coat up around our necks.
You, O Lord, have created the seasons for all creatures,
May we rejoice in each day we see the wonder of the earth.
In the name of the One who opens our eyes,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Autumn is the mellower season. What we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.
- Samuel Butler, British novelist and critic (1835-1902)
Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.
- Elizabeth Lawrence, American actress (1922-2000)
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me,
But I have calmed my soul, like a weaned child with its mother;
My soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
Psalm131: 1-2