This weekend proved to be adventurous from beginning to end. It all began Friday evening as I went outside for barn chores and nighttime tuck-in. As I walked out of the garage, I was met by a black bear standing across the driveway from me. He slowly looked at me as I looked at him. Neither of us was in any hurry to move. (He was about 50 feet away from me.) We stood there looking at each other and I gently said hello and suggested that perhaps he just keep going. After a few minutes, he slowly ambled down through our front yard, stopping every few yards to look back at me and ponder.
At this point, I ran into the house and grabbed my camera. By the time I reached the driveway again, he was gone. I knew which way he was headed (towards the pond), so I took off in the gator and drove down the length of our long driveway to the pond. I searched the woods for Mr. Bear and found him, hiding behind some bramble. Sadly, this is the best photo I could get... he wasn't about to leave the shelter of his "hiding" place.
We set up the game camera beneath our front deck and will probably have a photo or video to share with you in the coming days. It has been our experience that these bears, though shy in person, have a tendency to visit repeatedly. It's only a matter of time until we get a good photo.
Of note, we were awakened Saturday night by the dogs barking at our bedroom window. Hubbs got out of bed and checked out the window. Sure enough... said bear was walking, outside, right next to our bedroom wall. We have been taking down our bird feeders each evening, but there is still seed that falls to the ground. It's an easy meal for a hungry bear!
We had a beautiful, sunny Spring weekend.
Much of our weekend was filled with "grand" adventure, as two of our Littles spent Saturday and Sunday with us. There was an off-hand comment from one of the Littles that "we never watch TV at the farm".
To me, that's a really great thing.... there is so much to do outside, that we never need screen time! We spent our days enjoying nature...
and picked violets in the goat pasture....
visiting with the animals...
and exploring the creek - we found fish, and fresh-water clams, and crayfish...
learning about wildflowers - Dog-tooth violets, periwinkle, and so many more...
We climbed fences...
They helped with weeding (and were in charge of taking the weeds to the woods in their own little gator)...
The boys did a little tractor work...
and cleaned up manure...
We gathered eggs...
and cuddled cats.
We hiked the Dragon Tree Trail and went on an after-dark safari in the hundred acre woods, where we saw at least a dozen deer.
Everyone participated in meal preparation and clean up.
Every minute was full of activity. And by the end of the weekend, we delivered two exhausted children back to their parents; and two exhausted grand-parents headed home to slow down just a little.
The coming week will be full of weeding and gardening. A couple loads of mulch will be delivered on Wednesday, so I've got to get the flower beds weeded in preparation for that.
I am hoping to have some up-close and personal bear photos or video to share with you in the coming days.
Also... you are absolutely right about hens not producing as much as they get older. And many of our hens are geriatric. I often give my hens human-like emotional traits... which is why I said perhaps they were rebelling to the yard arrest situation.
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