I was curious about how many different critters Jim would see in the Smoky Mountains on his backpacking trip, so I Googled “Animals in the Smoky Mountains” and saw a list with close to 500 different animals.

Jim on the left.

I put together a little welcoming committee to greet him upon his return.

Not quite 500, but a good gathering nonetheless.

Alas, he said he only saw some bear poop and a salamander. Well, I’m glad he didn’t see any of these…

grrrrrrrrrrrrr…hissssssssss…

…or these

Howwwwwwlllllllll

along the trial.

And in keeping with the Beanie theme, I ran across four little guys on Ebay that I could not help bidding on.  The bidding started at $1.50 each so I said “What the heck!”

BEANIES IN SWEATERS, CAN YOU STAND IT???

I was the only bidder and I could NOT believe my luck.  When Jim saw them he told me I should be ashamed of myself for stealing these from some poor soul who either made these custom sweaters, or paid handsomely for them back in the Beanie heyday.  While I do love a bargain, I thought he was right, so I sent the seller some more moolah for which she was very surprised and grateful.

Seriously! How cute are these guys?

🙂