tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post7208930424283384102..comments2024-03-28T18:40:05.789-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: A Bear in the WoodsJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-20697319896867616872014-10-16T19:03:40.116-04:002014-10-16T19:03:40.116-04:00Yeah, Pat. I know you stay away from anything that...Yeah, Pat. I know you stay away from anything that seems even slightly wild, and I don't necessarily mean only critters. I imagine even a dozen trees might spook you. :-) After all, there could be a rabid squirrel hiding out in one of them. Just kidding, but I'm sure there's a kernel of truth in there, too. Right?Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-42104445494458853512014-10-16T17:56:17.211-04:002014-10-16T17:56:17.211-04:00Gosh, Gloria, you know me. I've never been cam...Gosh, Gloria, you know me. I've never been camping, never have seen any bears in the wild either.<br />Grizzly bears out here, and they aren't friendly, or afraid of anything.Patghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01046665022709722606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-16315827776486933512014-10-16T16:42:31.304-04:002014-10-16T16:42:31.304-04:00Jim, I've been in the White Mountains of NH, a...Jim, I've been in the White Mountains of NH, and my youngest brother took a canoe trip with his Boy Scout troop in Algonquin Provincial Park. My sisters and I thought we'd always like to do that someday, too. You are smart taking the feeders in at night. I used to have more trouble with raccoons, but not so much since I have a dog, who barks at them from inside the house. It also helps that I keep all my chicken feed in metal garbage cans in a closed stall in the barn. Now if I could only do something about the squirrels and chipmunks that won't leave the bird feeders alone. Even the squirrel proof ones don't seem to work well. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-46333473413597211782014-10-16T16:31:06.267-04:002014-10-16T16:31:06.267-04:00Gloria -- the trail incident occurred when I was h...Gloria -- the trail incident occurred when I was hiking alone in the White Mountains of NH. The next three occurred at our camp in the U.P. The swimming bear was in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ont.<br /><br />Our compromise with the bear is that we put up both hummingbird feeders and sunflower feeders, but take in anything it can get its paws on each night. It's a pain, but since we've done that the bear has not stayed around and our raccoon problem has also disappeared.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-44659145005768273482014-10-16T15:17:06.116-04:002014-10-16T15:17:06.116-04:00Shari, most of my backpacking was on the Appalachi...Shari, most of my backpacking was on the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park, and although we saw bears, usually they didn't come close. Like you, I keep a healthy distance between me and wild animals. <br /><br />Wow, Jim! What cool stories you have to tell. I take it they are mostly from your Michigan home. Are you able to feed the birds up there?<br /><br />That had to have been nerve wracking for you, Norma, but you were wise not to show it. I think one of the reasons I'm not a Nervous Nelly, is because my mother wasn't. I don't worry as much about black bears as I would about grizzly bears. I think they're more aggressive, at least from what I've read.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-61207312118491877102014-10-16T15:09:19.126-04:002014-10-16T15:09:19.126-04:00KM, it sounds like you have quite a variety of wil...KM, it sounds like you have quite a variety of wildlife in your area. I think that's quite interesting.<br /><br />Warren, that had to have been scary for her. One of my sisters was camping alone in a primitive campsite a few years ago with almost no other campers near, when a bear came into her camp and started snuffling around her tent and then pushed on her foot. When it left, she debated about running to her car, but wasn't sure if it was still close by. Later it returned and again sniffed around before leaving for good.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-58070533477024496432014-10-16T14:49:03.749-04:002014-10-16T14:49:03.749-04:00Lots of bears here. My bear story is over 50 years...Lots of bears here. My bear story is over 50 years old. We were camping in Yellowstone Park before they removed the bears. My daughter wasn't quite two, but I was in the midst of potty training, so we walked to the park facilities, me holding her hand. A bear walked down the road between us and the concrete restroom. We waited until he left and continued.<br />My daughter still remembers it! She said she looked at that animal, then looked at me to see if she should scream. I looked so unconcerned, she decided not to scream. (This was when she used and spoke about 20 words.) <br />And, of course, I looked unconcerned for exactly that reason.Norma Husshttp://www.normahuss.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-67592294208450854232014-10-16T12:28:28.667-04:002014-10-16T12:28:28.667-04:00I have so many bear tales I could fill a book….hmm...I have so many bear tales I could fill a book….hmmm. Which to choose? The time a bear crossed my trail three feet away but didn’t see me? Perhaps the time the bear stood on our back porch railing and batted hummingbird feeders to get to the sugar water? Or the time one smashed a sunflower feeder, gorged on the sunflower seeds, and then went to sleep in the yard? Or the one I met on the ATV one day who stood up to see me better? Or the one my father and I saw from a canoe that swam across a lake (faster than we could paddle), shook off buckets of water like a dog when it reached shore, and bounded up the boulders as though they were mere pebbles?<br /><br />Bigger, faster, stronger. I grant them priority.<br /><br />~ Jim<br />Jim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-42598384618853423572014-10-16T11:13:07.751-04:002014-10-16T11:13:07.751-04:00We were hiking in Shenandoah and we saw one pretty...We were hiking in Shenandoah and we saw one pretty far off - unfortunately did not have any binoculars with us.<br />That last photo of the lady with the bear reminded me of signs we saw out west - Don't ride the buffalo. Who would try to ride a buffalo? Enough drunken frat boys that they have to post signs, I guess.<br />Frankly I like to enjoy wildlife from a safe distance. People who treat wild animals like stuffed animals drive me crazy.Shari Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16425493627354028820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-51432997005692165832014-10-16T10:37:17.381-04:002014-10-16T10:37:17.381-04:00Once while camping my wife's mother reached ou...Once while camping my wife's mother reached out of her tent and patted something she thought was her husband's back. He was actually somewhere else. She patted a bear. Luckily the bear did not seem to mind.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-87788902638458107132014-10-16T10:34:22.327-04:002014-10-16T10:34:22.327-04:00We get the occasional wandering bear. I'm sure...We get the occasional wandering bear. I'm sure there are more up in the Catoctin Mountains. My brother placed a motion-activated camera near his house and has caught bears, bobcats and coyotes. Beaver have recently built a dam on a stream not far from us. And my husband recently saw a feral hog, which are not listed in our county, but are known to be in the next one over. Additionally, hawks and eagles are establishing themselves in the area. And we have a pair of resident owls.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-43392453775720955942014-10-16T07:32:49.974-04:002014-10-16T07:32:49.974-04:00Kara, you were lucky to be able to get away so fas...Kara, you were lucky to be able to get away so fast. The most dangerous bears are those mother bears, who think their cubs are in danger. Sort of like must human mothers, right?<br /><br />E.B. once years ago when we were camping in New York state, we came across a bunch of cars stopped for a bear. On stupid mother had her car windows down and she and the kids were feeding the bear through the window. When they ran out of what they were feeding the bear, it started climbing through the window.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-49878501506360751542014-10-16T06:16:05.308-04:002014-10-16T06:16:05.308-04:00My husband worked below Middleburg, VA, which is h...My husband worked below Middleburg, VA, which is horse-country. Most of the estate "farms" are double-digit acres separated by fences. As we drove along the winding two-lane road, we noticed the car in front of us pull over to the berm. As we were about to pass, we saw the driver looking out on the pasture. We, too, looked. An animal was galloping through the pasture and hopping over fences. At first, we thought the animal must be a frisky horse--but no. It was a bear. I had no idea bears could gallop or hop as high as a fence so as to lope over it. Dangerous animals to be sure.E. B. Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16746747050278597888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-77724977666051139332014-10-16T00:45:21.077-04:002014-10-16T00:45:21.077-04:00When my husband and I were camping at Red's Me...When my husband and I were camping at Red's Meadow in Mammoth, California we saw several cinnamon brown bears. One day we walked past a dumpster near the campsite startling a baby bear who had apparently been eating trash. He jumped out of the bin and was so scared that he threw up. Then we saw a mother bear coming towards her baby bear probably to protect him from us. Luckily the bathrooms were close by. We quickly ran inside and stayed there until the bears left.Kara Cerisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484336785514235707noreply@blogger.com