A Surprise Visitor Part II

To continue....

The bear was not walking through the yard, he was moving quickly. And he was not a small bear,either. He went about 200 lbs. He made a path in the grass that has grown tall by my garden-we haven't been home much this week to mow or weedwack,as you can see in this photo.

He ripped down two stalks of corn- I am thankful it wasn't more!!!

After his second trip to the corn, he ran across the yard toward the turkey cage. At this point, Rick saw Mr. Bear laying on the ground by the cage,with what appeared to be white feathers flying through the air. It was later discovered that it wasn't feathers, but corn husks.When he was done,he looked at Rick,and started running towards him,but Rick made a loud noise,and he turned and ran back towards the turkey cage.He hit the cage with this paw,but then thought twice,and lumbered off into the tree line. This was the point where Rick and Brian were slowly patrolling the treeline,their weapons drawn. It seemed like the bear had gone into our neighbors yard and through his field. Rick told me he could have shot him,but it wasn't the best angle to shoot him at,and he didn't want to have to chase a wounded bear while it was getting dark,even though Brian had his rifle.

Needless to say, I am a bit nervous going out into the garden in the evening now. However, Brian came up with a good idea-hit the car alarm button on my keychain before I go out,or keep it with me,so if he comes up on me while I am out,it should scare him off.However, I am going to be very aware of my surroundings for quite a while.

This is not the first time we have had a black bear in our yard. The first time was in 2004,the first summer we lived here. It was late at night,and we had the windows open watching TV in the living room. All of a sudden,I smelled something horrible. It smelled like rotten garbage. At first, I thought someone had a really bad gas problem! But then,Rick,who has been out hunting bear and has seen bears in the woods,smelled it and said,"That's a bear. There's a bear in our yard." We knew he had to be close,because the smell was so strong. We looked out the windows,but neither one of us wanted to start trying to find a bear in the dark. At that point,we had no poultry or garden,just bird feeders,so it didn't phase us. The next morning we went out and sure enough! Our bird feeder was on the ground and there was fur on the tree where he had brushed against it.

Actually, I am surprised we haven't had more bear sightings in our yard. We live on a corner lot,and in front of the house across the road we have woods,with an old bear den. Down the dirt road along side our house is acres of woods,though some of it has been cleared by our neighbor.We are also within sight of the Moose Mountain range. The boys see bears up on the mountain all the time.

Now the boys will be keeping a watchful eye out,in the mornings and evenings. Chances are fairly good that Mr. Bear will be back,now that he knows he has a food source in our yard. Just another part of country living!!!!