This morning around 7:00 a.m. we had a our first bear visit of the year. It was just a small cub, probably one of last year’s. He/she stopped for a few minutes to check out the bird food station, then walked up our driveway, pausing to check out one of our light posts.
I think it’s the same bear we’ve been seeing in the woods lately, and probably the same bear that wintered in our neighbor’s tool storage container. It seems a little young to be on its own, but maybe something happened to its mother. Perhaps it’s one of the fantastic five of Myrtle’s?
It was nice to see!
Above are the shadows of my house and my favorite tree this morning. Yesterday was an interesting mix of weather. We had snow, sleet, freezing rain and mostly just plain rain. All day long. Rick made a batch of Caraway Swiss (cheese) and I made broth for turkey soup by boiling down the turkey carcass. Not much else to do. Bella was a bit stir crazy not being able to go out in her yard and play, but otherwise we all managed to stay snug and cozy with a fire going all day in the wood stove to keep off the damp chill emanating from the windows.
We had a good Thanksgiving. How about you? We had more than enough food (we’ll be eating turkey for the next week) and it was good to see friend Carolyn again.
We relaxed and took it easy.
And, best of all, Carolyn got to see bears! Can you believe they made a grand appearance just for her? Friday we were watching movies in the living room just before dark, TV turned up for surround sound and had a fire burning pretty merrily in the fireplace. I happened to see something black out of the corner of my eye through the sliding glass door and thought that Rick must have let Alex outside on the deck. Wait a minute, that’s not Alex, it’s a BEAR. On the deck. Not four feet away from where we were sitting! I kept a calm voice so the dogs wouldn’t be alerted and start barking and said to Carolyn “Quick, look, there’s a bear on the deck.” Rick was in the other room and came to see. Myrtle was up on the deck too but not quite where the cub was. He was standing up on his hind legs trying to reach the bird feeder. They heard us talking and started leisurely back down the stairs to the yard. We stood on the deck outside and watched Myrtle and the cub for a few minutes until they left the yard. Myrtle and the one cub got to the edge of the grass and the cub climbed up the big oak, showing off, as Myrtle decided whether to give up the bird feeder idea or not. We could see other black-ish moving things in the woods—the other cubs. It was hard to see them in the dusky gloom, but they were there.
They came back again on Saturday night around the same time (4:30 or so). I was sitting in the sun room reading when Rick walked in. He glanced out the sliding glass door and said, “Every time I see that old tree stump in the woods I think it’s a bear.” Two seconds later he said, “Wait a minute—that is a bear!” Sure enough, Myrtle and the cubs were roaming around just outside our fence, foraging for food. They were pretty far apart and we could only account for four of the five cubs. They are not staying as close to momma as they used to. They are really getting big.
So we are going to have to keep a closer eye on the yard now. I assume they are getting ready to hibernate (or as much as they ever do here; more like a mini-hibernation.) and trying to fatten up for Winter. It’s nice with all the leaves on the trees gone that we can now see them.
While the weather was nice on Friday, Rick got some slow motion footage of Bella running. I love the second vid of her and what her ears are doing! Check them out below. She continues to grow and amaze us with her intelligence. She’s a very good puppy.
I finally wrested the blog away from Bella for a few minutes. whew. Now I know how mothers with young babies feel. Since that is what they do every single minute of their day all they can think about is baby baby baby. Or in my case, puppy puppy puppy! As I type frosted flakes drift lazily past the window. We have the ever-so-slightest skiff of snow this morning. It’s cold and I’ve got a good fire going out in the wood burning stove in the sun room. Alas, I am stuck in front of the computer in a different part of the house and can’t take advantage of its cozy warmth. No matter, it’s doing it’s job.
The little snow was enough to stick to things.
Such as dog butts.
We really *must* get the leaves taken care of this weekend before we get any real snow. The weather is supposed to be cold but clear. Fingers crossed.
I had a visit from the bears yesterday. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you want to look at it) I was not home. When I got home I let Alex out and he went racing across the yard barking. hmmm, always a sign of something. Once down in the yard it was obvious. The pole that the bird feeder hangs on was toppled over, pulled completely out of the ground. The bird feeder was in the woods. Here you can see the pole on the ground and Bella inspecting the feeder. what’s it doing out here mommy?
She sniffed the area all around where the bear had obviously been and didn’t like what she smelled one little bit. Her tail was down the whole time as her nose worked overtime to take in the scent. The dogs pretty much showed me the path the bear (or bears) had taken. They stood at the foot of the big oak tree and looked up as if to tell me that the cubs had probably had a good time climbing, and then walked along the fence until they showed me where the bears had probably come over, the chain link sagging.
I am assuming it was Myrtle and the Fab Five since my neighbors saw them just a few days ago. My neighbor was on his little forklift driving down their back driveway (sort of to the side and back of our house) when he met all six bears walking toward him on the road. Imagine six bears headed straight for you! How many people ever see six bears at once? He wiggled the forklift tines at them and they headed off in another direction. The cubs are getting big! I’m hoping they visit next week some time when my friend Carolyn is down for Thanksgiving. But you know wildlife will appear where and when it wants to so there are no guarantees.
I even managed to exercise for a half hour this morning with the Wii Fit. I put on the jogging program and was jogging along (in place) when my Mother waved at me from the sidelines as I went by. It just about stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t really her, just her Mii (the digital avatar that you make for each person that uses the Wii). I remember when my sister and I made her Mii. It was Christmas, the year before she died. We were just about rolling on the floor with laughter as we chose her eyes, nose, hairstyle, glasses. She thought it was a hoot. Now here she is. I had forgotten that the Wii will add in any Miis that have been created into various programs. Rick went jogging by in the other direction, or rather his Mii did. Very odd. I’m glad she’s in the system.
hey mom, i’ve got dandruff ...
Well, that’s about it for now. Just wanted to let you know I’m still here.
Have you ever made eye-to-eye contact with a bear? I have. Or maybe this photo is more like eye-to-lens contact.
This bear visited my yard this morning. I think it’s Patches but somehow it looks smaller than that. Same patch of brown hair on her chest though. Not a big bear; more like a two or three year cub. To get these photos I went outside in the back yard and stood at the fence. The bear could have cared less. I just talked to her and every now and then she’d look up at me. What are you doing, lady? she seemed to say.
Who would have ever thought that I would grow to love having bears in my yard?
They have all finally arrived. Right on cue the cicadas have amassed their counterparts for their summer symphony. The same time every year they all gather round for their summer performance. Tonight is the first night I’ve heard so many. One thing that is different this year is that they have a backdrop of crickets. My Mom always said that the crickets are a sign of fall. To have them both on stage at the same time is a bit puzzling. I don’t remember them in the previous two years of our living here. But yet, there is no mistaking them. The crickets sound like a soft violin backdrop for the chit-chit-chitting back and forth of the cicadas. Talk about a soothing sound to lull one to sleep ... yawn... I can feel my eyelids drooping sitting here typing with the windows open for maximum volume.
Sorry, Colorado, right now you seem pretty boring in comparison to my life here. Fireflies in June/July; then cicadas in August. Bear, turkeys, deer, and coyotes (we heard a pack with pups twice over the weekend very close) and who knows what else.
This evening Rick was in Philly on business and I took the dogs for a walk. Myrtle and the Fab 5 were down at the end of the street. All five cubs were up a large tree in a neighbor’s yard. The dogs were well behaved and we just watched as each cub made their way down the tree and off to Mom Myrtle. Wonderful. How many people can say they saw a mother bear with her five cubs on a routine walk down the street where they live?
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