Good morning everyone! I hope you’re ready for a nice hot cup of coffee and a short time to relax and enjoy another story this morning. It’s a beautiful, sunny, autumn morning, with a chill in the air and a temp of 46F (8C). But it’s going to warm up once again to a high of 70F (21C), which is very nice for this time of the year. Some years ago while out at our cottage, which was nearing completion by this point, the weather was similar to what it is right now. I was out there by myself, as usual, but fortunately I hadn’t seen any bears around for quite some time and that was nice.

I was in my little cabin and had the wood stove going which provided nice heat on these cool mornings. A pot of coffee was perking on the stove too, that wonderful aroma filling the cabin. But I needed to go down to the well for some more water, and it wasn’t far from this little cabin. I looked around and it was all clear, no sign of bears anywhere. Off I went down to the well and got my water, but I again had that “feeling” that I was being watched. I looked around but could see nothing unusual. I just started back to the cabin when a large black bear came around the corner, right by the door. I stopped. He got up on his hind legs and started sniffing the air.

It was a rather tall bear and this distance was too close, and nowhere for me to go for safety since the bear was blocking the way to my cabin and car. He obviously knew I was around. I decided to leave the bucket of water behind and try going around the other side of the cabin. The only thing I had with me for protection was a large Bowie knife from the 1920s. It was very big and sharp, but I still had no interest in a fight with that bear. I got around the side of the cabin and made my way to the front. But the bear was still in the same place, which made him closer to the door than I was. I waited for a bit, then he started coming my way, which is not what I wanted.

So I quickly backtracked and went up the other side and looked around the corner. The bear was sitting down right by the steps up to the door, fortunately facing the other direction so he didn’t see me. I thought about trying to make it to my car, but the doors were locked and my keys were inside the cabin. The bear seemed to be intent on looking down the road and finally I spotted another bear coming out from the trees. He started walking along the road, coming this way. This is not good. Fortunately this bear decided to go check out the other bear.

Once it was gone far enough I quickly went back inside, grabbed my car keys and went to my car. I then honked the horn which scared both bears away, and I never saw them again that day, which was nice. This was one of my closest encounters with bears, but not the only one. Bears will generally run from people by just making some noise, but that doesn’t always work. Each bear is different, and noise can actually attract some bears. So I always preferred staying out of the way, which didn’t always work either! Must be time for more coffee, and some food for the chipmunks too. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2021 Steve McLeod.