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It started about 8 years ago, shortly
after we moved here. One morning we were sitting at
the table having a morning cup of coffee and I happened to look
out the window and saw a nice black bear down below.
Wasn't long after, the bird feeders started disappearing, always at night. The powers of observation have not yet failed, and so the feeders were pulled in each night. That worked for a while. Then one day I forgot to take the bag of seed in off the porch, and of course it went away. Spring brings much rain in New England, and it was one of those cold wet dreary nights when you would think nothing alive would want to be out in it. Of a sudden the two pups lit up and were trying to go through the windows to get at something outside. Flipping the porch lights on revealed nothing, yet the dogs would not give it up. So I put on the rain gear, grabbed the flashlight, and stepped out the door. Right into about a 350 pound male black bear! He stood up, winded, and slowly moved off. Wasn't long after, he was back. He saw Ina and immediately charged, thought for a second he was going to be in the cabin! Well that wasn't going to do at all. Shooting the bear was out of the question, for legal, as well as moral issues. It was then I decided to have a talk with the bear, and that's how it all started. There was a connection. I talked, he listened. Brother Bear, there are 21 acres here for you to call home and pass as you please. The cabin and all who dwell there are off limits to you my friend. The problems stopped as fast as they has started. Bear Whisperer you say. Maybe so, for sure the bear understood. Shortly after there was another bear, and then another. Somehow, word had gotten around the Kingdom that here was safe haven. The following Spring we were blessed with a Mother Bear and 3 cubs. And each year there after we have had twins, sometimes three, and this year 4 cubs! Cubs are curious, and they love to play, in fact most bears are curious, and now that I think about it, even the big ones like to play. They have made off with a chainsaw, a bucket of flower bulbs, and other things with my scent on them. They don't go far, just enough to watch me look for the gear, Oh but that's fun. One Fall I put wire cages around the Princess Diana Rose bushes and filled them with leaves. They are not so tolerant of our New England Winters, and the extra insulation is enough to get them through the coldest part of the season. The mistake I made was to firm the leaves down with my hands once the containers were full. Well, the bears found the scent and emptied every one of the wire baskets! They do these things just to spark me up, and well, because it's their idea of fun. About two weeks before bow season opens there is not a bear to be seen for a hundred miles, and we don't see them again until late April. Anyone would be hard pressed to get us to believe they don't have it all figured out. I spent countless hours in the woods with the bears taking pictures. The light is always low when they move about and it takes 500 or so pictures to get one good one, but it's worth every second to be with such a noble animal. Hope you enjoy the Bears and the Site! |
