It’s been a long time since we’ve had a bear in the yard. Months have passed. This morning Hailey and Sailor were outside and I heard them both barking. A different bark. I stepped out on the deck and they were at the edge of the yard looking into the woods. At the instant Hailey dashed into the woods and I saw a flash of black go up a tree with Hailey firmly planted at the bottom of the tree, barking like crazy. The bear was only a few feet up the tree away from her! I called and with a little coaxing she left the treed bear and both dogs came in. I dashed back outside, but the bear was not in the tree anymore.

I walked down into the yard peering into the dense woods as I went. I could hear cracking and snapping of branches. Then I saw it, walking along. I couldn’t tell which bear it was, but it wasn’t huge. I thought to myself, Lynne you’re crazy, get back in the house you fool! I must admit it spooked me a little to be pretty close yet the bear didn’t seem to see me. Back inside I went. I little later I looked out and could see it at the edge of the yard in the dense undercover. I got the binoculars but still could not identity who it was. I am thinking maybe Major since it was all alone and by now Ursa should have abandoned her cubs. And, the cubs know our yard and use it like part of their territory, which it is I guess.

Now that the bears have started to visit again I know all will be well. When they are gone things tend to go wrong.

You must have noticed that there haven’t been any new entries in my Bear Diary. Of course, the minute I set them up with their own blog, they desert me. It’s just that time of year I guess. My neighbor next to me who lives at the end of our cul-de-sac [Aileen] has reported that she has seen them further down the hill and into the forest.

Over the four days or so, another bear has been sighted. First neighbor Aileen saw a large male in her yard and called me up to tell me he was headed my way. I kept the dogs in and watched all windows vigilantly, but no bear. He must have taken a different path. Then, the night before last, our neighbor across the street, Kim, called to tell me the bear had just visited her and was now entering our front yard. Sigh. We didn’t hear the phone call since we were watching a movie, so we didn’t see the bear. Darn those bears anyway!

So, I have hopes of seeing one again soon ...

Here beary-beary ...