2003 bear harvest

The 2003 Bear Harvest appears to have been a great success. I did not hear of anyone taking a bear around our mountain. The closest was a few miles away, where a 14 yr. old took one that was about 150lbs. When he was asked if his heart was pounding when he took it, he answered, "it did not have time to pound, the bear came up behind me and I shot it!" I say, "Well done, young man!" The scuttlebutt at the local weigh station was the biggest weighed in at 450lbs (still waiting for the stats to see if this is rumor or not)
Opening day for the deer season is Monday... and there is a nice 4 pointer that has been roaming around. He has such a nice rack, I would think at first glance he is a 6 pointer. We don't normally see buck around here. Mostly I see doe and their fawn. Naturally, we are all worried for Sweet Pea. If anyone shot her she would be missed.
I have been busy making the felted bags (that I should have started long ago) I have also been asked to attend a Craft Fair and feel ashamed of myself because I do not have a larger inventory to offer. Oh well, there are only so many hours in the day and I have not figured out how to do without sleep yet.
There is snow in the forecast (with the A word in it :o!). I am torn between pulling all the carrots and the beets and storing them in the basement, or leaving them out there with a heavy layer of straw. I have started to harvest the purple carrots (as pretty as they are tasty). I always get a kick out of the fact that purple carrots have been around since about 900AD.
The kale is still hanging in there, but I am starting to lose the battle where the parsley and sage and other herbs are concerned, so I have been clipping as much as I can to dry or freeze. The rest of the garden is in good shape with the winter rye and the garlic coming up nicely. I cannot remember a year when I have had every bed ready for winter this early. It is a good feeling. So, SNOW??? BRING IT ON.....or not....