Bears

I guess the first question everybody asks about living in the mountains is: "Do you ever see any bears?"

Well, the answer is a big yes!  The previous owner of our house warned us that we would see bears frequently and to be alert. Don't go out front without looking first and don't ever leave any kind of food in the car!  They also told us that we have a lovely trash can holder somewhere on the property.  They failed to tie it down so the bears tossed it around trying to get in the trash and it rolled down the mountain! It's too heavy and the mountain is very steep, so instead of retrieving it, they bought a new heavy-duty trash cage that they cabled to the telephone pole!

 So far we've experienced three actual bear sitings, (two of which were on our property) and countless evidence of bear presence (scat and scattered trash).  No, the dogs didn't get in the trash. No dog in his right mind would roam these woods!  Most of the homes in our area are rental properties and the visitors keep their dogs on a leash. You just don't see many animals roaming around loose, except for bears. 

Our beautiful, sweet Cassie had the first bear siting. (Cassie is my grand-dog).  We stayed up late watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July and Jenny and Bobby had to go back to work the next day. "Just sleep in, we'll get up early and leave quietly," Jenny said. They were quiet until Jenny came bounding back in the house squealing, "There's a bear in the tree, there's a bear in the tree, there's a bear in the tree!" They had let Cassie out to do her business and she walked right up to a bear.  The dog ran to Bobby and the bear ran up a tree right beside our driveway! It was gone before any of the rest of us could get decent enough to go outside. So alas, no photo.

Keith saw a bear in the middle of the road on the way back from Lowe's. He had to wait for quite a while before he could proceed.  If anybody ever asks you, "How does a bear cross the road?"  The answer is slowly!

I experienced our third bear siting.  I was sitting on the deck and I kept hearing something below. I figured it was a bird or a squirrel, but it was a big beautiful bear.  I spoke, we had a fine (one-sided) conversation about the weather, and the bear went back in the bushes. Again, no photo. Most mornings I get up and go to the deck first thing to admire the view and look and listen for bears. This season I'll take my camera with me and someday I'll get a photo!