A-Hunting-We-Will-Go

I think it would be beneficial if perhaps I gave you guys some useful tips  that I use to track bears down around campus, as they tend to roam around and such.
First, I thought it would be nice to give you guys a little favorite recipe of mine: Berry Honey Granola. Perfect for a snack during the long bear stake-outs. Super tasty and substantial! 

Ingredients

• 4 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup chopped toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup raisins (I like golden)
• 1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries (I use crasins) 
• 1/2 cup chopped dried papaya (I think dried papaya is gross, so I omit this one) 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, almonds, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, canola oil, and honey. Spread evenly over the prepared baking sheet, pressing down lightly with the back of a spoon.
3. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.
4. In a large bowl, break the cooled granola into large chunks. Mix in the raisins, pineapple, sweetened dried cranberries, and papaya. Store in an airtight container and take with you when you're tracking down bears! (Careful though, they might want some too!) 

Here are some photos to help you in your bear tracking endeavors:

Highlighted is bear scat. Gross, but helpful if you want to know where bears have been and may return to.
Photo Credit: Yours Truly

Bears like to hang out in these dense secluded bushy areas.  Frequent these areas enough and you'll most likely see a furry friend.
Photo Credit: Your Truly

A picture of a bear paw print. Definitely useful if you want to follow a bear's movement patterns
Photo Credit: Yours Truly

Please don't shoot the bears when you're 'hunting' them. That's not what this is about. (CLICK)

Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Our days are busy. Super busy. Go to class, go to rehearsal/sports practice/whatever, go to meetings of various clubs, do homework, somehow fit in seeing friends and eating. There certainly isn't any time for relaxing, and you can forget about sleep. Wouldn't it be nice if there were somewhere to go that's made especially for you to get yourself centered again? Yeah, you could do some yoga or listen to some music BUT... there's a zen meditation garden located right in the chapel here on campus.

Taken by Deborah M. 

Good thing bamboo also grows here - adding to the zen decor. You know who loves bamboo? PANDAS. And before you Panda novices get all up in my case about Pandas "not being bears". They are... we think. Maybe.  In Stephen O'Brien's study of Panda, Racoon (Red Panda) , and Bear DNA, he concluded that Pandas split from the Ursidae family much later than the Red Panda. Therefore, they are more closely related to bears than to the Red Panda, as was previously thought. However, a recent blood protein study used albumin (a blood protein) which suggested that Pandas are related closer to raccoons. Basically, it's still way up in the air as to whether or not Pandas are really bears. But that's okay. If you frequent the meditation gardens, you might see them snacking on some bamboo anyway. So grab your green tea, your ramen noodles, and your other stereotyped asian items and make your way to the meditation gardens for some quality 'me-time' with the Pandas. 

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

'Why?' asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

'Well, I'm a panda,' he says, at the door. 'Look it up.'

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. 'Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.'