Lions and Tigers and Bears!

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn. ~Henry David Thoreau

Well, okay... only bears.

Yesterday morning, about 10 a.m., DD happens to look out her window to the woods out back -- a habit we both have because it's where I keep my bird feeders and we love to watch all the birdies. Only, it wasn't a bird she saw.

"MOM!! There's a bear taking your feeders!"

Because I have my priorities, I ran for the camera ... but he was too fast for me. DD was upstairs yelling and the dog was barking and it was all too much for the bear. Unfortunately, he didn't drop my suet feeder though (it was my good one!) but he took off into the woods, which are only about 20 feet back.

He wasn't a huge bear, but not tiny either. My guess? A juvenile maybe a couple years old... could be that his mama kicked him out on his own this spring and he's just not doing so well on a diet of unripe blueberries and chipmunks, so is looking for easier fare.

I waited a few minutes and then went out to bring in the rest of the feeders... sadly. One of my great joys is watching my birds, especially this time of year. One of the coolest things I get to see is the mama woodpeckers bringing their babies to the suet feeders and teaching them how to use it. Yesterday, I had to see mamas and babies come over, hang on the tree and "peep peep peep" looking around for the feeders that have been there for YEARS .... and see nothing. I wanted to cry. I did close my windows and sliding glass door on that side of the house so I couldn't hear them anymore, because it broke my heart.

Later in the day, I took a walk and bumped into a neighbor a couple houses down. I mentioned the bear and she said that just a week or two before, her DH opened the curtains to the deck (it was night and he'd heard a noise) to find a bear on the deck, on his back, drinking the sugar water in their hummingbird feeder. He ran for his camera, too (yes, we're all a little strange) but refused to open the screen so didn't get a good picture.

I'm thinking it's the same bear. And something got into my garbage a couple weeks ago, too. Dragged the garbage bag back into the woods a bit and tore it apart. It especially liked the empty container for my DH's "International Coffee" and the empty container for my chocolate soy milk -- so whatever it was, it had a sweet tooth.

In any case, the feeder are going to stay inside for now. Not only do I not want to lose any more feeders, but it's not fair to the bear. He's going to get used to stealing from people and it's going to get him in trouble. I don't want to contribute to that.

But still... this morning, when my birds were peeping from the trees around where my empty hooks are sitting, it was all I could do not to put out food. I'm terribly sad.

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Your PB and J Says You're Adventurous and Accepting

Your eating style is gluttonous. If you like something, you're going back for seconds... no matter how full you are! You have an average sweet tooth. While you enjoy desserts, they aren't exactly your downfall. Your taste in food tends to be pretty flexible. You may crave sushi one night, and your favorite childhood recipe the next. You are probably a fairly normal, upper middle class person. You don't rock the boat too often. You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you. You are laid back and extremely easygoing. You never make a fuss, and you try to enjoy every moment.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?

Nope... that's almost completely wrong... lol... But I do love a good PB&J!!

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