I have my trail cam set out, charged up and waiting for a repeat of the evening before last when I got up during the 6 o'clock news and looked out of my living room window at the front lawn and watched a bear walk by. About ten feet away.
I am still a little buzzed by the sight since I have lived in this admittedly rural area for 48 years and never seen a bear closer than ten miles away and then up in the hills.
He wasn't a very big or old black bear, maybe 150-200 pounds and not black but brown.
I closed some doors and followed his wanderings around the yard through different windows. He got to a corner with a closed gate and reversed his route, ending up in a clump of berry bushes.
I alerted some neighbors, made sure the cat was inside, put a ten round mag in the Mini-14 and ventured out with no good plan.
My young neighbor came over with his deer rifle and we tried to locate Mr. Bruin for about a half hour before decided he had left the area the way he came.
Checking with some folks across the road and with a vineyard next to wilder country turned out they saw a family regularly munching their pinot noir.
OK. A bear. My first one, never even showing up on critter cam. Never any scat or overturned trash cans, including the ones lined up every week along the road.
So I guess I will pay a little more attention for a while dusk to dawn.
There will be a related post tomorrow in the guns thread.

My FB people have already seen, the mountains and foliage are not the only beauty we have seen this NH trip. Driving down a back road through the forest and we came across this beast.

http://cellar.org/img/nhmoose.jpg

Tesla be verwy verwy quiet.

747 won the Fat Bear Contest this year...

Nice work 747!

I saw a fisher cat yesterday, that was pretty cool.

You mean one o'these?:

Attachment 71687

Yeah, a chocolate brown oversize weasel. I hear they are hell on chickens but security is pretty tight here.

I was neck deep in the river, leaning back against the bank, and one of them (we call them fishers 'round h'yere) came hiking down the creekbank, came within about 6 feet of me. Gave no indication he knew I was there. I think he had somewhere to be.

I hope this poor baby doesn't get carbon fiber splinters in his gums...

Yee. Ikes.



Link to UPI article

Wow. Shitty day

Good kitty

I think my instinct would be to throw rocks immediately, probably get me killed.

She just wanted him gone and her actions were to menace not attack.
Effective as hell, I'd say.

Attachment 71748
Caught a flying squirrel in the floor joist cavity. With a towel.