Walking with Bears, part 2

We are home from Alaska and getting caught up on stuff. We got in late Saturday to a dead battery and a very muggy night. The humidity was reminiscent of getting off the plane in Florida. The first thing we noticed was how dark it was. Then we realized we hadn't seen DARK in 8 days! Even at 3 AM when it was darkest, it was still a gray dark, not the black of night.

Maggie was thrilled to see us, but I must say, that a pet sitter makes such a difference. Beth stops by 3 times a day, walks her or lets her lay outside in the sun (which is one of Maggie's favorite pastimes.) When we come home that frenetic ecstasy that overtook our other dogs is not present in Maggie. She is calm and relaxed, but glad to see us.

Sunday, we went out for our "neighborhood tour". On a path through the woods I thought I recognized bear droppings. Hmm, an imagination running wild? Could be. I didn't notice anything else around, and the dropping was very small; just a small black turd with berries in it. Definitely not deer droppings.

When we moved here, I made a comment to Larry wondering if bears lived in our area. NAH, he pooh-poohed. Oh course this is the same guy who told me not to worry about snakes or alligators when we moved to Florida. The very first day we were in Florida we took the boat out. What did we see?? An alligator was swimming in Lake Thonotosassa, where people water-skiied, and then we saw snake skins on the sidewalks in the neighborhood where we were house hunting. No alligators in Florida? HAH! Larry routinely took guests on Alligator Viewing excursions. If you lived on water, you probably had at least 1 resident alligator. So I know he is more interested in heading off the hysterics of his wife. I also know to listen with one ear!

We have never seen signs of bear around here, but this spring black bears have been seen in highly populated areas not far from us. One was caught right before we went on our trip. Today I heard there have been 2 reported bear sightings in the last few days in a half mile radius of our neighborhood, so apparently my imagination was not running wild! This is the time of year when momma kicks out her older cubs to live on their own, so young bears are busy locating their new territory. I guess it is time to bring in my bird feeder.

I may not have seen a bear in Alaska, but the summer is young, and apparently, opportunities still abound. Stay tuned. Maybe there will be a "Walking with Bears, Part 3"!