Acorns From The Healing Tree

Welcome!

"I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content." ~ St. Paul

And black bears!


Black bears are cute, smart and hungry, and we have them in our area. We actually have a sign on our street on the other side of our block warning residents to beware of them. Personally, I have never seen a bear, apart from at the zoo or the circus, and even after last night. I've heard many stories of people in our area who have seen them, though. My own brave ex-boyscout husband, while checking on a friend's house who was out-of-town, encountered a bear that had been loitering in the friends yard. The bear was huge and very black and as soon as my husband drove up the driveway and encountered it, meaning was so close he saw the whites of its eyes, he turned right around and drove away. When he returned the next day, the bear was gone. Once some friends were walking to a neighborhood party carrying a casserole and spotted a bear up in a tree looking down upon them (and the casserole). They made it safely to the party but had a friend drive them back home.

Last night we had our first visitation from a bear! It was the middle of the night when we heard a lot of commotion and crashing around outside - it sounded so loud and close that at first I thought it was something on our roof. Our upstairs window was open so whatever it was must have heard our exclamations!

"What in heaven is THAT?"

"It sounds like someone's taking out their garbage!"

"Look out and check, dear?"

My husband looked outside. Of course it was very dark, but he said he was sure there was something up in one of our pine trees. We could hear branches snapping, as whatever it was climbed. It was obviously not a small animal like an owl or a cat. He said it looked like something big and dark. Yikes!

The next day I went out to see if there was any signs of mischief. Sure enough, our bird-feeder that contained expensive big black seeds, purported to attract "song-birds", had been ripped from its chain beneath our bedroom window. The bird feeder lay on the ground, tipped open with a pile of the seeds laying nearby. (There was nothing to be seen up in the tree except the magpie nest which, I am glad to say, was untouched!) I noticed that even the metal ring from which the feeder hung from a metal link chain had been bent open and ripped from the wall. This must have been a) a very tall animal, since the feeder was up higher than a man could reach without a ladder, and b) a very strong animal unless it had pliers or a wire-cutter.

People thought it might have been a cat, or an animal that had climbed down from the roof. I don't know of many cats that will go to all that trouble for seeds do you? Mountain lions (which are also around our area) are most definitely carnivorous. That leaves one animal who is strong and tall and loves nice, juicy seeds: a bear.

Now we have learned that a neighbor recently saw a bear in our area - and has pictures to prove it. I guess one could advertise that the big black seeds are guaranteed to attract song birds as well as black bears! The birds will have to fend for themselves from now on...


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