An addendum to yesterday's STANDOFF: 8:00am - Monday.
I let Bernie out back for his normal routine of chillin' on the back porch, watching for squirrel, rabbits or such to chase after til he's ready to sniff out the grass for a spot to go and was coming upstairs after heating up a cup of coffee, when I heard Bernie bark with a heavy vicious growl jumping off the porch and running towards the woods (about 75 feet behind the house). Just as I got out the door I saw Bernie get to the fence and squeeze between the fence post and the barn, I noticed bushes rustling and could see the black bear running away with Bernie at his heels.
The bear, yesterday, when honked at to get out of the road, must have turned and ran into the woods right by my house trying to find a place to hunker down and stay the night and out of trouble. WHY MY HOUSE! ?
I'm screaming at the top of my lungs with my heart racing for Bernie not to chase after it because if the bear had decided to turn and attack I wouldn't have been able to help Bernie if he had gotten hurt because it's too overgrown and would be afraid of getting hurt myself once the bear got angry.
As I continue to yell at Bernie to come back, I could still see big black spots moving through the the bushes and could hear Bernie growling. Then SILENCE!! After what seemed like !FOREVER!, but probably just about 2 minutes, which can be like watching water til it boils, when all you can do is wait and see if your dog walks back out of the woods in one piece or is laying injuried in a pool of blood in the woods and you can't help him. I finally saw some movement in the bushes as I'm still yelling for Bernie. As I wait to see who may be moving the tall grass/bushes, I see Bernie slowly coming out between the blades of grass.
One good thing was I hadn't heard the bear growling as if actually attacking or didn't hear Bernie yelping as if He got hurt. He looked in one piece and a little scared. But I think he knew I was upset and he has that look of "I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean to scare you".
Monday, July 11, 2016
Sunday, July 10, 2016
STANDOFF
Bernie was chillin' out on the front porch, and I was cutting grass this morning. As I was running out of gas, I rode mower around to where the gas was, and all of a sudden I saw Bernie at Guard Stance in the big part of the yard near the road and he wasn't barking, he was just standing and staring down something. As I moved my eyes toward the direction he was staring, there stood, at an 'I will attack if you come any closer towards me Stance', was an adult black bear about 40-50 feet away from Bernie, staring Bernie down. It was a STANDOFF.
I jumped off the mower yelling at Bernie to come to the house. Neither one of them moved. I kept telling at Bernie to come to the house and that he was a good boy for guarding the yard. He finally started turning around toward the house. As Bernie headed toward to the house, the black bear turned and ran down the road only to cause cars to honk at him to get out of the road.
Bernie and I came into the house for awhile to make sure the bear was gone. That was way more frightening an encounter than the juvenile black bear last year. This adult bear had to be at least 400-500 #s. It was huge and scared me. Thank goodness we were safe.
Bernie was chillin' out on the front porch, and I was cutting grass this morning. As I was running out of gas, I rode mower around to where the gas was, and all of a sudden I saw Bernie at Guard Stance in the big part of the yard near the road and he wasn't barking, he was just standing and staring down something. As I moved my eyes toward the direction he was staring, there stood, at an 'I will attack if you come any closer towards me Stance', was an adult black bear about 40-50 feet away from Bernie, staring Bernie down. It was a STANDOFF.
I jumped off the mower yelling at Bernie to come to the house. Neither one of them moved. I kept telling at Bernie to come to the house and that he was a good boy for guarding the yard. He finally started turning around toward the house. As Bernie headed toward to the house, the black bear turned and ran down the road only to cause cars to honk at him to get out of the road.
Bernie and I came into the house for awhile to make sure the bear was gone. That was way more frightening an encounter than the juvenile black bear last year. This adult bear had to be at least 400-500 #s. It was huge and scared me. Thank goodness we were safe.
Friday, August 7, 2015
An unexpected evening
Well it looks like I'm going to have to get a cricket gun. they are about $130. It's a 22 long bullet very small rifle that only shoots about 50 yards. I had one in AR to shoot raccoons and possums when I trapped them in a trap getting after our chickens. I cried at first when I did kill them, because I didn't want to have to do it. But, the raccoons and possums killed the chickens and ate the eggs which I ate myself. I guess you could say it was survival and that is how I had to look at it. I wanted to live off the land and be self sufficient. And sharing space and food with nature's inhabitants was new to me having lived a city life until I was 50.
I wouldn't use it to shoot anything now unless it attacked me or Bernie. I would just shoot into the ground to scare it away.
Now, back to the beginning of my story.
Yesterday evening before the sun went down, while Bernie and I were sitting out on the porch as we do quite often, Bernie starts to growl all of a sudden and goes down the steps. As he reaches the sidewalk, he looks straight across the road and starts heading for it (the road). Of course I'm right behind him about 50', at 68 I'm a little slower reacting to things, hollering to him to "stop and not go across the road!!!" At this point I didn't see what he was barking at and running towards. He must have smelled something in the air or saw something moving through the bushes.
As he gets to the road, a juvenille size black bear comes out of the woods, it stops, turns it's head and looks straight at Bernie. The bear glances at Bernie, he then casually turns his head back away and circles around some trees and goes back into the woods right by a big tree.
Bernie stops for a second at the edge of the road, then continues across going right after that black bear. And I'm running down the driveway yelling after Bernie about not crossing the road and not going after that bear because he could get hurt. All the while a guy in a camaflouge painted truck is slowly braking as Bernie gets across the road and the black bear has disappeared. I stood there a minute trying to figure whether the guy in the truck had been chasing the bear, following the bear to kill it or just happened to go by at that moment.
I was beside myself. Juvenille black bears can be mean and aggressive like adult bears, if they are aggrivated about something or really hungry. I got to the edge of the road and Bernie was across the road heading for that big tree he saw the bear go behind.
Well, the bear either must have gone deeper into the woods or up a tree. By the time Bernie got to the tree he lost the scent. I finally got Bernie to come back across the road into the yard. Boy, was I was relieved. There have been a lot of black bear sighting lately in a lot of areas and states and some have been agressive.
From now on I'm going to have to keep a tighter leash on Bernie by not letting him sit out on the porch by himself at night anymore, making sure I'm out there with him especially in the evening and making sure he doesn't just disappear into any of the woods surrounding the yard more during the day. I did that for awhile after the skunk incidents. I just hope I don't have to do a repeat scare adventure with anything bigger and/or dangerous. But I'm not holding my breath because with having Bernie and living in mountain country, I never know what just might show up at my door or what adventure Bernie might decide to go on next.
I'm just glad all is well for the moment.
I wouldn't use it to shoot anything now unless it attacked me or Bernie. I would just shoot into the ground to scare it away.
Now, back to the beginning of my story.
Yesterday evening before the sun went down, while Bernie and I were sitting out on the porch as we do quite often, Bernie starts to growl all of a sudden and goes down the steps. As he reaches the sidewalk, he looks straight across the road and starts heading for it (the road). Of course I'm right behind him about 50', at 68 I'm a little slower reacting to things, hollering to him to "stop and not go across the road!!!" At this point I didn't see what he was barking at and running towards. He must have smelled something in the air or saw something moving through the bushes.
As he gets to the road, a juvenille size black bear comes out of the woods, it stops, turns it's head and looks straight at Bernie. The bear glances at Bernie, he then casually turns his head back away and circles around some trees and goes back into the woods right by a big tree.
Bernie stops for a second at the edge of the road, then continues across going right after that black bear. And I'm running down the driveway yelling after Bernie about not crossing the road and not going after that bear because he could get hurt. All the while a guy in a camaflouge painted truck is slowly braking as Bernie gets across the road and the black bear has disappeared. I stood there a minute trying to figure whether the guy in the truck had been chasing the bear, following the bear to kill it or just happened to go by at that moment.
I was beside myself. Juvenille black bears can be mean and aggressive like adult bears, if they are aggrivated about something or really hungry. I got to the edge of the road and Bernie was across the road heading for that big tree he saw the bear go behind.
Well, the bear either must have gone deeper into the woods or up a tree. By the time Bernie got to the tree he lost the scent. I finally got Bernie to come back across the road into the yard. Boy, was I was relieved. There have been a lot of black bear sighting lately in a lot of areas and states and some have been agressive.
From now on I'm going to have to keep a tighter leash on Bernie by not letting him sit out on the porch by himself at night anymore, making sure I'm out there with him especially in the evening and making sure he doesn't just disappear into any of the woods surrounding the yard more during the day. I did that for awhile after the skunk incidents. I just hope I don't have to do a repeat scare adventure with anything bigger and/or dangerous. But I'm not holding my breath because with having Bernie and living in mountain country, I never know what just might show up at my door or what adventure Bernie might decide to go on next.
I'm just glad all is well for the moment.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Bernie's cousin Otis's visit
May 28th, Thursday evening, pizza is cooked and salad made waitng to be eaten. Bernie is patiently waiting for his cousin Otis to get here from Portland, ME. Otius will be staying with Bernie and me for the weekend while his mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, go to a wedding in NC. Bernie is excited.
Well, it's Friday morning and Otis is saying good-bye to mom and dad. After they eat their breakfast, Bernie takes Otis outside to show him the yard. he starts at one corner in the back and they run along the edge of the woods as Bernie tells Otis how they are not allowed in the tall grass because that's the property line. Bernie is warning Otis about the skunks in the neighborhood. once the how and tell is done, they get to the business at hand - playing! After chasing each other the length of the yard several times, Bernie colapses from exhaustion, all the while, Otis is still running, through the vegetabe garden, jumping over Bernie, and finally drops, rolls over and starts scratching the heck out of his back in the grass.
Time to chill out and take nap. As evening sets in, the sky gets a little stormy, we all run for the house. Bernie and Otis start scrambling for a place to hide in the dark. Turns out they are both afraid of storms. They finally settle down for the night. Saturday is a new day and a day it seems for Otis to start feeling more comfortable in his new surroundings. He decides to wander closer to the edge of the yard near the road away from bernie and me. i start calling him and thank goodness he comes running nearly knocking me over. He seems to be havng a blast because of all the space to run. But I see that Otis is getting a little to at home here and I wonder if i need to start putting him on his leash. But so far he is staying in the yard. Otis has wore Berne out with all the running, so Bernie has just been laying out getting more tried by the hour watching Otis go. another good day coming to an end. Sunday afternoon i decide to take the boys on a road trip so they could enjoy the breeze through their faces as they stuck their head out the window. It looked like they were enjoying the ride and didn't want to get out when we got home.
Well, here it is the last day of Otis's stay. So we took one last ride in the car before Otis's mom and dad were to arrive to pick him up. Overall, it was a good visit 'so far'. then it happened. Bernie and Otis got out, Bernie heading for the sofa on the porch to chill, as usual, and Otis decided to make a b-line for the roa in the direction that he took a walk on his leash with his mom Friday before they left for NC. My life flashed before my eyes and Otis's shrt 4 year life flashed before my eyes as well. I froze for a second, started running towards Otis and turning my head back to the house to see if Bernie was still on the sofa. Not a chance, he was halfway to the driveway. So there I was chasing Otis down the street telling him to stay and come to me, and yelling back at Bernie to stay in the yard. By the time i caught up close enough to coax Otis to come to me, Bernie was at the street corner across the street from the house. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry hysterically. As Otis approached me, I thought now is my chance to grab Otis by the collar. I reached for the collar and don't you know it, that boy Otis sidestepped me and started running towards the other road at the corner. He was headed towards Browntown. I knew I couldn't catch him, so i ran back to the house grabbed my keys on the steps, i had left them there as we had just gotten home from a ride. cranked up the car, bernie jumped in thinking he was getting another ride, backed out of the driveway and headed towards Browntown. Boy, was I in luck, Otis was so busy sniffing everything, he had only gotten as far as two houses down from me. As he saw me coming over the hill towards him, i was keeping my fingers crossed that he would come running to the car. YES! Here he came. The Universe was on my side. I quickly got out, opened the back door where Bernie was waiting and Otis jumped in. HALLELUJAH!! All is safe including me. For a while there, i thought i was going to chase after Otis all the way to Maine. Thank goodness I ddn't have to face my brother and sister-in-law with bad news. From the second Otis jumped in the car til I got him in the house he was on his leash til his mom and dad got there. HAPPY ENDING FOR ALL!
Well, it's Friday morning and Otis is saying good-bye to mom and dad. After they eat their breakfast, Bernie takes Otis outside to show him the yard. he starts at one corner in the back and they run along the edge of the woods as Bernie tells Otis how they are not allowed in the tall grass because that's the property line. Bernie is warning Otis about the skunks in the neighborhood. once the how and tell is done, they get to the business at hand - playing! After chasing each other the length of the yard several times, Bernie colapses from exhaustion, all the while, Otis is still running, through the vegetabe garden, jumping over Bernie, and finally drops, rolls over and starts scratching the heck out of his back in the grass.
Time to chill out and take nap. As evening sets in, the sky gets a little stormy, we all run for the house. Bernie and Otis start scrambling for a place to hide in the dark. Turns out they are both afraid of storms. They finally settle down for the night. Saturday is a new day and a day it seems for Otis to start feeling more comfortable in his new surroundings. He decides to wander closer to the edge of the yard near the road away from bernie and me. i start calling him and thank goodness he comes running nearly knocking me over. He seems to be havng a blast because of all the space to run. But I see that Otis is getting a little to at home here and I wonder if i need to start putting him on his leash. But so far he is staying in the yard. Otis has wore Berne out with all the running, so Bernie has just been laying out getting more tried by the hour watching Otis go. another good day coming to an end. Sunday afternoon i decide to take the boys on a road trip so they could enjoy the breeze through their faces as they stuck their head out the window. It looked like they were enjoying the ride and didn't want to get out when we got home.
Well, here it is the last day of Otis's stay. So we took one last ride in the car before Otis's mom and dad were to arrive to pick him up. Overall, it was a good visit 'so far'. then it happened. Bernie and Otis got out, Bernie heading for the sofa on the porch to chill, as usual, and Otis decided to make a b-line for the roa in the direction that he took a walk on his leash with his mom Friday before they left for NC. My life flashed before my eyes and Otis's shrt 4 year life flashed before my eyes as well. I froze for a second, started running towards Otis and turning my head back to the house to see if Bernie was still on the sofa. Not a chance, he was halfway to the driveway. So there I was chasing Otis down the street telling him to stay and come to me, and yelling back at Bernie to stay in the yard. By the time i caught up close enough to coax Otis to come to me, Bernie was at the street corner across the street from the house. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry hysterically. As Otis approached me, I thought now is my chance to grab Otis by the collar. I reached for the collar and don't you know it, that boy Otis sidestepped me and started running towards the other road at the corner. He was headed towards Browntown. I knew I couldn't catch him, so i ran back to the house grabbed my keys on the steps, i had left them there as we had just gotten home from a ride. cranked up the car, bernie jumped in thinking he was getting another ride, backed out of the driveway and headed towards Browntown. Boy, was I in luck, Otis was so busy sniffing everything, he had only gotten as far as two houses down from me. As he saw me coming over the hill towards him, i was keeping my fingers crossed that he would come running to the car. YES! Here he came. The Universe was on my side. I quickly got out, opened the back door where Bernie was waiting and Otis jumped in. HALLELUJAH!! All is safe including me. For a while there, i thought i was going to chase after Otis all the way to Maine. Thank goodness I ddn't have to face my brother and sister-in-law with bad news. From the second Otis jumped in the car til I got him in the house he was on his leash til his mom and dad got there. HAPPY ENDING FOR ALL!
Friday, May 1, 2015
As I was watching Bernie, that skunk that sprayed him was walking past him about 15 feet away. The skunk was wobbling a little, but still on his feet And didn't pay much if any attention to Bernie while I was hollering for him to come inside NOW!! Of course, he happen to see the skunk and looked as if he wasn't sure What to do. Thank goodness he was already too sick with rabies to attack. I got Bernie inside and of course he was looking at me as if to say, "Mom, what did I do wrong that I have to come in". I went back out on the back step to see where that skunk was, because he had turned when I was taking Bernie in, and was headed for the house. As I stepped backed outside, guess who was walking past the wall and climbed onto the bottom step about 5 feet from me. He just seemed too busy trying to figure out where some food was or just mozing around. I slowly stepped back into the house and watched as he slowly made his way into the woods next door. Now I don't know whether to ever let Bernie out the house!
Some of the smell has diminished. I was going to give him another bath today, but last night's bath was like wrestling a crocodile just to keep him in the tub(which he got out once and putting him back in took 10 min. of him sliding out of my arms like a greased pig because he was all soaped up), let alone, try and bath him. I have a spray bottle to rub in some lemon juice instead of having another wrestling match. Now i wish i had kept the bath appointment at the pet groomers tomorrow.
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