Good to be the Governor

Awwww! Isn't that just the cutest thing. It doesn't matter how tough things get, when you're the governor you can just go out and find some bears to cuddle with and at least for a moment everything must feel better.

(The bears don't seem to mind, either. Of course, they don't have to worry about paying higher gas taxes...)

Tags: Massachusetts Deval Patrick Bears

You know what we need? More bears.

Michelle would dispute me on this, but is there really anything more heartwarming than reading a story in the Globe about three cute bear cubs that have been born in the wild, just one town over:

RUTLAND, Mass. -- State biologists conducting their annual mid-winter "bear census" made a happy discovery in the woods here this morning: One of 13 bears they've tagged with radio collars has given birth to three healthy cubs.

After anesthetizing the mother bear with a drug-filled dart at the end of a 10-foot-pole, researchers from the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife carefully picked up the estimated month-old cubs to check their gender and weight. The cubs, two males and one female, all clocked in within a few ounces of 5 pounds....

...officials with the wildlife department and the University of Massachusetts Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit estimate there are anywhere from 3,000 to 3,500 across the state, almost all of them living in Worcester County and Western Massachusetts...

I mean, really. Would there be anything cooler than looking out into the back yard and seeing a mother bear and some cubs ambling around looking for something to eat? I think not!

I know we've got a few bears in Sterling, but sadly they all seem to be spotted on the west side of town. Our neighbor across the street claims that he has seen evidence of bears on his property, but I'm skeptical.

Tags: Rutland Sterling Massachusetts Bears