A "Bear" Miss

This morning I strolled out of the house and got in my car to head off to work. I accidentally bumped a button on my phone and noticed there was a voicemail message waiting. I wondered, "Who could have called me this early in the morning?". So I listened to the message and soon realized it was left by the neighbor lady only 15 minutes prior. "I hope you get this in time before you leave for work", she said. "There's a bear in your yard. Be careful". That was the essence of the message. I quickly scanned the yard from inside my car. No bear in sight. A bit stunned to know one had been there so recently, I nevertheless headed off to work. On the way I called the neighbor to thank her for the warning and also to get more information on the situation. She told me she had been standing at her kitchen window (which faces my property) and a sudden movement caught her eye. She looked up to see a Black Bear sauntering down the neighbor's lane and then lumbering through my lawn. She said it looked to be a fairly large bear, definitely not a cub. At one point it stood up and waved its paw as if swatting a bee. The forest creature then continued across my sidewalk to a smaller grassy area before turning back toward the front porch and then disappearing behind my house, presumably meandering across my patio minutes before I walked out the door.

So now I'm wondering if I'll have an uninvited guest at my next patio party? Hmmm... maybe I'll keep a nice, thick salmon fillet around just in case.

Image source: Canadian Museum of Nature. Learn more about the Black Bear here.