"I didn't see anything"

"Really, lady, I have no idea who pulled down your clothesline and ate all the seeds and suet."

Me: Well, I find that a little hard to believe.

"You callin' me a liar?"

Me: If the shoe fits, buddy...

"well, you wouldn't happen to have any more of that suet, would you?"

Me: You little sh**!!! And by the way, your earrings look stupid!


And that is how my day started. The same bear who took down three feeders and my bird fountain late yesterday was back bright and early this morning with designs on the rest of the Bistro. I'm still not entirely sure how he/she got the clothesline down since it was 10-12 feet off the ground, but the results aren't in dispute. At least the bear didn't destroy my favorite seed-ball feeder. Bears can actually be surprisingly delicate when they are eating, often holding a container in their hands while licking out the food.

What concerns me about this bear is that it does not appear to be afraid of humans, which doesn't bode well for its long-term survival. I took this photo at 85mm and the image is NOT cropped. (I hasten to add, that I was well above the bear, on my deck and a quick hop to the back door of the house.) I am hoping now that the non-hummer part of the Bistro is indefinitely closed, the bear will move on. I am also hoping that he doesn't develop a taste for sugar water and start going after the h-bird feeders. He did get one this morning, but it may have been incidental to the main targets.

Needless to say, I won't be spending much time in the garden today. Since I don't always hear things sneaking up on me, I don't want to take any chances of being cornered out there by a curious bear. If I get anymore interesting photos today, I'll come back and post a link.

Hope your day doesn't include any unwelcome surprises!

Debbi

Addendum: I haven't seen the bear again today so I am cautiously optimistic that he may have moved on. Or, maybe he's just napping. Meanwhile, I did get some other shots today that I was quite happy with - Nine are posted HERE on Flickr if you'd care to have a look (birds and butterflies).