9 April 2010 The first bear of spring – or – The bear will have to, I’m not inviting it in.

9 April 2010 The first bear of spring – or – The bear will have to, I’m not inviting it in.


I took Gloria to Tri-Cities Airport last night to catch a flight to St. Petersburg FL. Her niece, Diana, is to be married Saturday, on the beach at Long Boat Key. We had both planned to attend but animal care plans fell through.

The trip to the airport was uneventful but rainy. Once we got there, the tone of the evening changed. The counter person for Allegiant Air was singularly unhelpful when Gloria asked him to print a return boarding pass for. She tried to explain that she would not have access to a printer in Florida but he was unwilling to find any means to help her.

The airport has a snack bar/coffee shop type facility. We walked into it to check the menus for future reference. The sole person working there began yelling that he was closed. Gloria said, “OK, we just want to see the menu.” His repetition became louder, and more rude in tone. Finally I asked him what time he closed. We got an answer, more invective, and left.

We sat down to wait until she had to board. That wasn’t to be either. The airline paged all passengers with boarding passes to the gate. No plane there yet, but the lights in the terminal were going out. So I kissed her goodbye and returned home. It was foggy with drizzle all the way back.

Loki was unhappy that only I came through the door. I took her out about 2145. She wanted to go around back but I had her on a lead and kept her in the front yard. She ran in frantic circles sniffing until I finally brought her back in. Even then she wanted to go out back. As I was hanging up my jacket she lunged at the back door, barking loudly. I checked to see if, perhaps, a possum or raccoon had climbed onto the deck. I saw nothing at first then movement caught my eye and I realized that an adult black bear was happily eating something at the foot of the stairs to the back deck. I made as much noise as I could to; hopefully, discourage the bear from remaining and dining. Whistles, pounding on the window, turning on exterior lights, nothing discouraged a hungry bear.

It is a good thing I didn’t let Loki go around back. She’s never encountered a bear face to face and she’s brave enough to push her luck. I only had a sidearm and that would have been less than optimal if I had been required to separate Loki from the bear.

Gloria had several bird feeders and suet blocks on a line by the deck. Today there are two less bird feeders, a copper wind mobile has been damaged, and the suet block holders have been carried off. The bear, however, was not ungrateful. It answered an age old question. While I may still be uncertain as to the habits of some clergy, the ways of bears are no longer a mystery. There is shovel work ahead.

Bear encounters in the dark are not the best things to stumble into.

Tonight we can expect freezing temperatures. The well filter lamps need to be plugged in and returned to service. The drive in to campus was a visual delight, redbud trees blooming along the entire route, dogwood beginning to bloom, Bradford pears covered with white flowers, and a bright, clear blue sky with lenticular clouds over some of the peaks and high alto-cumulus chasing down the back of the cold front that blew through yesterday.

Gloria called me last night to let me know she had arrived and that her ride was waiting. She called again this morning, catching me just before it was time to leave. I’ve always enjoyed her voice over the phone. I’m reminded how lucky I am to not have as much hearing loss in those frequencies.