THE CHOCOLATE BUNNY BEARS

It was the year that Covid swept Colorado with a blast. Schools were closing, businesses were lost, and society as we knew it was compromised. Gunnison County was closed with the exception of local residents. My daughter, Lisa being a needed Doctor in Montrose, placed her 7 year old son Levi with me for home schooling. Thus began a wonderful adventure for Levi, his Gumma and our puppy, Lavina, with “The Chocolate Bunny Bears”!! This adventure was the inspiration for this carving.
Snow was on the ground and the roads were closed for the winter. Levi, Lavina, and a giant stuffed bear with Gumma at the helm snowmobiled home for the winter. The forest, animals and the mountain home became our classroom, no Ipads. The back field with ski poles were used as our chalk board. Levi always beat me at hangman with word games and spelling exercises. Fresh snow made wonderful snow cones and animal tracks were identified and followed. The local environment and animals were studied. Snowball fights and snowmobile rides were worked into our daily classroom schedule. Karate and piano were continued. Tested at the end of our year, Levi’s reading and math were 6 grade plus. Writing stories from his creative mind was incredible. Cursive and grammar needed work. Art was a gift!
On a routine food drop at the parking lot by my granddaughter Sage and her mom, Lisa, Sage asked if I could retrieve her snowboard from under the deck on their next trip. Our 6’ distance was kept and funny, they looked like the Michelin Man or the Pillsbury Doughboy.
The next day I crawled under the deck to retrieve the snowboard only to be met by a low growl. I was face to face with a very big bear. I backed out slowly. Lavina was taught not to sniff around the deck and to be quietly respectful. Levi and I learned about the lifestyle of bears.
Easter was fast coming up. A father’s kindness I will never forget, Buck snuck up through the forbidden zones into the house on Easter Eve with an Easter basket for Levi. Without a snowmobile, he must have walked the 1.8 miles each way, a father’s true love! Within the basket was a 12” chocolate bunny. Filled plastic eggs were hidden in the wood pile and snow around the house. Levi and I went hunting for the rabbit tracks I had made the night before and my little handmade Easter treats. To our surprise what we found was a large Easter basket torn apart and empty. Further investigation found large bear tracks leading to the back deck. What the Easter bunny had left was still a mystery, but there was little doubt who the culprit was, our bear beneath the deck!! Further investigation found plastic eggs and jelly beans scattered around the snow shed. In the light snow that had drifted in we found perfect baby bear tracks scattered around the jelly beans. “MAMMA BEAR HAD A CUB!!!” A phone call let Levi know that Mama Bear had confiscated his Chocolate 12” Bunny. I believe it took Levi two years to forgive her for that infraction! We watched for and found tracks leading off the property and into the old forest a week later.We had many adventures this winter. The one that brings a smile to our face, sometimes a frown for Levi, is the Easter “CHOCOLATE BUNNY BEARS’. Levi’s nickname to this day is Bunny by family. I am not sure if they are related but for me as his Gumma they will always be in this frame of context.