No Bears Out Tonight

We have spring fever on the farm! We have a had a few nice warm days in a row with no rain. Daylight savings has kicked in and the days are getting a little longer. We have turned off the heat and are seeing more birds, and a few scattered Daffodils and Crocus pushing through the soil.

For Shabbat dinner this week, we set up the table outside and had our Shabbat meal in the back yard complete with burgers on the grill. It was the first time we have done that since we moved in this Dec. It was quite nice! We witnessed the new (ish) moon high in the sky and YHVH's beautiful painted sunset over our boarder of bald trees. It started to get chilly as the sun was setting, but we didn't want to "give it up" yet. So the kids ran in for jackets, we cleared the table and commenced with a very fun outdoor game I thought I would share with you called "No Bears Out Tonight". Momma nursed baby Chazaq on the swing and watched the fun as Papa and the rest of the little lambs played. It goes like this:

This game must be played at night in the dark. The boys are the bears and the girls are the hikers. You pick a home base. The girls hide their eyes and count to 30, while the boys go hide somewhere between the girls and "base". (This is especially exciting on a unlit farm property around a new moon if the boys are wearing dark clothes!) When the girls are finished counting they call out "no bears out tonight", as they head toward base. The boys hop out of their hiding places (with big loud growls of course!) the girls squeal and the chase takes place. If the girls are tagged before getting to base, she goes to the predesignated spot called the "belly". When everyone is either caught or safe, the round starts again. (Usually after much laughter and recall.) It is so cute watch the dynamics between siblings take place as I rock on my swing with the baby. My oldest daughter instinctively swoops up my tiny 3 year old and saves her from the bear. The boys love the chase and the girls loved to be chased. And Papa....he makes the best bear of all. After the boys have had enough chasing with papa on their team, they decide they would like a little sport against Papa too. So He becomes the only bear guarding base from 5 squealing hikers trying to get past him. He is 6 ft 5 and lets out his biggest deepest growls in the dark to get a reaction of out the kids. He hides and jumps out of the dark at them and chases after them like a giant with big wide steps (which only increases their excitement). We all had grins from ear to ear. When he catches them, he swoops them up and eats their bellies as they squeal in delight.

Good Times!