Friday, April 18, 2008

The Bear

Paul and I saw the bear last night. S/he wandered onto the patio next to the basement door, then sat down and pried the lid off the garbage can that holds the birdseed. S/he was not happy to find that all the suet was gone. S/he sat like one of our dogs and licked the edges of the trashcan, then ambled up the side yard and disappeared into the woods leading down to our old house. I watched through the night scope, and Paul tried to capture him/her with his night vision camera.

I'm not good with bear mass, but s/he was quite large, easily three times the size of any of our dogs. And s/he was alone--no cubs. Clearly s/he is bedding down somewhere close by. Paul found lots of bear scat. The dogs continue to be vigilant.

I'm wondering whether the chickens are in danger. Clearly a bear this size could make mincemeat of any of our fences/coops. Suet seems fine for now, but will it be enough???

No comments: