The Bears are back

No, I'm not talking about the stock market. I'm talking about Ursus americanus, the common American black bear. They are back again this year. I haven't been bothered by them until now and had hoped they'd moved on. No such luck.

Yesterday I left my basement doors open to let it dry out a bit. With all the storms we've had, it was getting pretty damp down there. My house is built on the side of a hill, and one side of the basement is at ground level. There are big double doors, the better to bring projects in and out of the basement. Had them open wide.

To be fair, to a bear, my basement smells a lot like food. That's where I store jugs of waste vegetable oil used to run my diesel truck. I knew something was wrong when my little dog went nuts, running around and barking like crazy. That's when I went outside and discovered a trash bag with an veggie jug had been dragged out of the basement. The bear had also gotten into 3 gallon bucket that I used to change motor oil.

Looks like the bear might have taken a few good licks at the crank case oil stuck to the inside of the bucket. Mr Bear isn't going to feel very well, I think. It won't be enough to kill him, but I suspect he'll have a big tummy ache.

By the time I got outside, I could hear the dog all the way down the swamp, still barking like crazy. She worried me a bit, but got home safely. Good dog. Maybe the bear will have been annoyed enough by the encounter to detour around my place in the future.

The surprising thing is that happened in the middle of the afternoon. They usually come around in the dark. That's why I took a chance and left the doors open. Of course, when a bear is hungry, all bets are off.

-Sixbears