Emmett and I have been in the woods and on the state land as much as we can.

The walking is good on the game trails. Vegetation is low and we are taking advantage…

And last week, the weather was cool in the morning, warm in the afternoon … perfect for our out and about jaunts.

The green roof is actually my neighbor’s work shop. My house is obscured by trees and the end marker (red square). This top view looks very tree’d in, but in reality it is fairly open.

We have been taking advantage of the good walking and low vegetation because as the vegetation fills in, it becomes difficult to see things like, you know, bears. I always have bear spray and I keep a sharp eye out for movement of any sort. FWP (Fish Wildlife Parks) noted some weeks ago that bears were out and about.

Crazy enough, these bears were not out on the state land, but 40 feet from the “office end” of my house.

Sunday morning, about 6:50 a.m., the motion detector at the end of my driveway went off. I didn’t see a vehicle or hear the midway detector … but then, Emmett ran to the window and barked and … 2 of these three were “standing” against a tree just off the edge of the side yard.

After a little indecisive dance: watch/go get camera … I got camera and phone and thankfully got a few photos as well as called my neighbors. I know neighbor Mike walks out to get their newspaper in the morning and I wanted to let him know.

I do not have the makings of either a wildlife photographer OR a great eye witness :( … The three bears “seemed” like 3 adults and I even imagined Grizzly humps … RATS.

Not a great photo, but it is fairly easy to see that the front bear is Mama and the “cubs”, albeit LARGE cubs are smaller and they are “black bears”.

So much for my powers of observation. I am thankful that I did get a couple of photos that were recognizable and in thinking of the number of bad/blurry/too light/too dark bear photos over the years … I gave myself a head thump and instead of leaving my camera in Manual mode, am leaving it in Auto mode … so I can pick it up and shoot. It has only taken me 16 years to figure that out. I normally shoot in Manual, but that is when I have time to think.

So … hopefully … next wildlife opportunity, I might get better photos.

Just a few notes about bears … these, as well as any that I have ever encountered, want as little to do with up close to me as I do to them. These 3 took off when Emmett’s barking escalated … even though we were in the house with windows closed. The danger comes from surprising a bear or coming between Mama and cubs … generally. So, while I definitely keep watch for our safety and out of respect for the wildlife, I don’t fret (too much :) ). I will admit that after seeing these three, I have been EXTREMELY watchful, but the other thing … I do not have any food stuff around my house. Although, they are technically Omnivores, they tend to eat mostly fruit and vegetables … plus wasps, hornets, honey, i.e. humans and dogs and cats are not on their preferred meal list so the thought that they might be hunting us is not accurate. Even though I have seen a number of bears at this house, they are “pass through” bears. There is nothing to keep them here. They are moving higher/lower depending on the season.

So.

Emmett and I went out about 45 minutes after the bears left. I wanted to see what Emmett would do. He went immediately to where they had been and followed their scent.

I kept Emmett from going near the road and we didn’t follow off the property to our West, but it was very interesting to watch Emmett detect their path.

I could not see what they were interested in up the tree. My only guess is that maybe there was an old wasp nest that they could smell ???

Later…

Yes, it snowed! I wonder if the bears thought they maybe should have slept in a bit longer …

Into and out of … the woods!