Coffee, Chatting and Critters. #3

Posted on June 7, 2022 by

58 Comments

Good morning everyone on this beautiful, sunny Tuesday! The weather is actually warming up finally and the sun is supposed to continue shining for several days at least and that is great. So I had plans to walk down to the river a couple of times this week. However, something came along to perhaps interfere with those plans. It is a bear.

My acrobatic black bear buddy.

Yesterday after coming home from shopping I noticed that my bear warning system had been triggered. Was he still on the deck or not? I told my friend to wait until I checked it out. As I got closer I saw this big black head stick out. He was still there. Then he came running off the deck, which unfortunately was in the same direction I was standing.

Hmm, anymore food up here?

But he turned and ran off around back and out of the yard. That was much too close. He had also broken one of the poles that holds feeders. I could not fix the pole but I had room to hang the hummingbird feeder on the other pole, plus the chickadee feeder. The bear came back in the afternoon and went after the feeders. I tried to scare him away, but he would have none of that.

Hmph, that was a waste of time.

Instead he turned to me, growled and snorted. That was too much. This is my deck and I plan to use it. He can go eat somewhere else. So out came my bear spray. I just gave him a short blast to see what would happen. He ran off quite fast. But he had already destroyed my two hanging feeders and broken the hummingbird feeder. The stores do not have any of those feeders left now, too late in the season. So I am attempting to fix it and will hang it back up shortly to see if my repair job worked.

Anyway, the bear was back after an hour but there was nothing for him. I heard him groaning like he was rather upset there was no more food. He returned in about half an hour and checked again. Still no food so he left. He did come back again just as it was getting dark, but no food so he did not stay around long. He did move the step outside my door, picked it up with one paw and tossed it aside. That step is quite big.

Male American goldfinch that I can no longer feed.

So is the bear. He is about 5 and a half feet long from nose to rump and stands 2 and a half feet tall. It is early summer so he is still thin, by fall he could be a big bear. Having had a much better look at him now and checking size charts, he is likely 250 to 300 pounds. Not overly large, but not small either. And he is not afraid of people, that part makes him more dangerous.

So, I have to stop feeding birds and that means no more opportunity for pics out here. My only hope now is walking to the river. However, I am a bit nervous about doing that now. Sigh. Lock the doors, stay inside all summer. Hmm, but if I did that then my blogging would come to an end. Sigh. Here are some pics of my new “buddy”. And a more cheerful friend that will now be gone. Have a great day everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2022 Steve McLeod.

Category: Black Bear, Coffee, Friends, Life, Nature, Photos, Positive, Summer, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , ,

58 Comments on “Coffee, Chatting and Critters. #3”

  2. Steve, it may be that the content of your blog will be changing. Your bear is extremely dangerous, with its lack of fear of people and his coming so close. His returning so many times shows that he thinks food is to be had. Where is your neighbor’s dog, when you need him? Hope you can find a new place to walk and to get photos, without endangering yourself.

    May the LORD God protect you and keep you safe. Blessings today for a new routine.

    Liked by 4 people

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    • Thank you! My neighbor works from 7am to 7pm so his dog is inside unfortunately. Yes, bears around here have lost all fear of people due to the fact they come into town all the time looking for garbage or whatever else they can find. That does make them dangerous unfortunately. If I still had a car then I could find other places to walk that are safe, but as it is I am stuck here. Thanks for the encouraging words, have a great evening!😊😺

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  3. is there some sort of a wildlife authority you report the bear encounter to? any other type of bear deterrent you can use? i would think every time you encounter the bear, spray it with the bear spray so it might learn your place is not a place to look for food. stay safe!!!!!

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Yes, I can report it, but they won’t do anything unless it’s endangering a person’s life. So I asked, “how much does my life need to be endangered?” I don’t think he liked the question. They also discourage using bear spray in town limits since it could make the bear angry and they might take it out on someone else. That is a possibility, but doesn’t leave me with a lot of choices. So for now I stop feeding birds for the summer and stay inside as much as possible. Thanks Buddy.😊😺

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  4. Wow Steve, what a story. I’ve alway wanted to see a bear, but certainly not to have such a close encounter with one. This seems like a very dangerous situation, especially when he can pick up your step. Not to scare you, but what if he tries to get in your place!!

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    • Well, he could easily push my door in if he wanted to try it. There is only that one little “tongue” holding it closed, that is nothing for a bear this size. Apparently this bear is big enough to flip a 600 pound rock with one paw, so pushing open my door would be easy. I try not to think about that. I never give bears much thought and have hiked around in the bush a lot by myself. But for some reason that one yesterday scared me. I don’t like that part so much. Thanks for reading, have a great week!😊😺😬🙀🐻

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  5. Omg that’s a terrific close call…. I was sure about one thing, the bear doesn’t know how to blog 🐻, so don’t give the blogging to the bear 😜😜😜 sure it had a good look about your yard now 🤣🤣. Very nice 😅 sad that he broken the feeders 😒 dan 🐻. We lost beautiful bird picture because of this 🐻 so sad. Anyway u be careful first so that we have Steve on blogging 😉 Have a wonderful day 🤗🤗

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    • Thank you so much Simon! I will be careful, just like always!😁🙄 Yeah, breaking 3 feeders in one day, that was too much. He certainly wasn’t being very neighborly!🙄🐻😮 I’m not sure how blogging is going to work out right now, we’ll see. I might have to cut back a bit, or a lot.🤔🙄 Not right away though, probably not until next week. Have a great day Simon and good night!😁🌛🥱😴😴

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      • 🤔 cut back, hmm seems a good idea. You can take a break ofcourse😉. But don’t give it to the 🐻 bear 😜, cause we don’t read bear 🐻😆😆. You need to learn 🐻 bear language to curse it for breaking 3 feeders, comeon that’s rude! Isn’t it 🧐. Bad bad bear 🐻. Take care like you always do 😅🤣 Sweet night ✨

        Liked by 1 person

      • No, I won’t take a break,😬 but I might cut back on how many times I post each week.🤔🙄 He even broke the pole the feeders hang on, that will be a bit tough to fix. I will have to put up a new pole I guess.🤔 I will need to talk with my landlord about that.🤔🙄😬 Okay, I will do that Simon, take care like I always do!😁😂😹 You do the same, take care just like me!😊😂😹 Have a good night Simon!😊😻🌛😴🥱

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      • That’s bad, the poles are damaged too 🧐 god. I am doing that 🤔 i think taking care of myself, like you. 😜😜have a good day ❣️

        Liked by 1 person

      • It was another beautifully beautiful day and its even kind of sort of drying up outside, a little! Actually it is getting quite dry already, but not dangerously dry, just nice dry. Enjoy your day!😊😻🌞🌳🌲

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      • Dry and warm that’s all we wanted for a nice summer isn’t it 😉 it’s a long drive night, You too Have fun with Muffin, 💝 BTW where is she now 😉

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      • Just don’t fall asleep or it will be a short drive! Make sure you keep talking, try singing, do bird calls. Muffin and I have our fun times playing each morning, most of the day she sleeps by the window enjoying the scents and sounds as she sleeps!😁😻🌙🌞🐝🐞😺🐿️

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      • No i didn’t sleep,🤤 now I’m feeling terribly sleepy the drive is over. Off to bed for a while 😄 good night Uncle Steve

        Liked by 1 person

      • Good night Simon, yes, after its over then we start getting tired, have a good sleep Simon!😁🌙🌛😴😴

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  8. Bears are not to be “ played “ with, Steve ! Please be ever-alert ! 🐻😲🤔🙂😻 Sleep well ! 😴

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  9. I’m glad you know a thing or two about dealing with bears because they can be a nuisance. I would expect that walking to the river shouldn’t be too bad and you shouldn’t be bothered if you don’t have any beef jerky in your pockets, lol. Stay safe.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Sometimes I think it is safer going to the river than sitting on my deck, this is where I see bears all the time, not down there! And I do have the bear spray. However, it might not be wise bringing peanuts with me, that bear loves peanuts. The biggest problem with bears around here is they have lost their fear of people due to coming into town so much looking for garbage. But in the last 3 years I have only seen a bear once walking to the river, and he ran. Thanks much Herb! Have a great evening!😊😺

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