BEAR ATTACK!
So I get up in the morning, look out the window, and my three 6-foot-tall bird feeder poles are GONE. They’re not there anymore! I ran outside, and all the poles (thick metal pipe) were flat on the ground. It could only be a bear flattening them down. But, there were no food trays hanging on them – they were just empty poles, but the bear managed to crush them anyway.
Then it got worse! My husband discovered the bear had broken in through the fence and ripped out some of the boards. He wasn’t too happy about that, and now has a project, once it stops raining. We have already had to rebuild our fences more than once due to nocturnal ursine raids.
Bears are more of a problem all the time in these parts, and we’re right on the edge of a large green space with a creek running through it (SALMON!). We try to live in harmony with nature, but if it isn’t bears it’s raccoons or squirrels. Coyote sightings are relatively rare, but you’re more likely to hear them getting together at night for a group howl. Added to the weird bassoon-notes of barred owls, it makes for some hair-raising night noise.
But the bears are the worst invaders, though you can’t blame them for needing to eat constantly to maintain their massive bulk. People are being told to take all their bird feeders down (and I never leave the seed trays out overnight), and even barbecues have to be put in the garage, because the smell of cold grease is attracting them and they can literally rip a barbecue apart.
Being one who likes to win an argument, even with Nature, I want to try a new kind of pole that I can actually take down at night. I think Bill wishes I would just stop spending so much time and $$ on things that always get destroyed. But I am not willing to give up yet. It’s my worst trait.
Back Yard Bear: THE REVENGE!
The bear who smashed down my 3 birdfeeder poles will have a harder time pushing this one over, I hope! I always take all the feeders inside at night, but empty poles are no challenge for a beast who can easily snap a metal pole in two.
One hair-raising back yard bear story comes to mind: we used to have windowpane-mounted feeders which were great for seeing the birds close-up. Then in the middle of the night, we heard a pound-pound-pound and a CRASH. Running downstairs, we saw a large black bear standing on its hind legs at the window, swatting at the glass. We realized it would only take one paw-swipe to break the glass, and then we’d have 200 pounds of bear wandering around in our living room.
We managed to scare it away (after several tries), but the window feeders had to be taken down permanently. I thought the poles would be bear-proof, but apparently there’s no such thing. And squirrels are already trying to scale the new one, or parachuting down from the huge cedar tree in the back yard. The birds always come back, and I love them, but I can’t even add up how much time, energy and $$ I’ve spent on equipment over the past 10 years or so. I am hoping the fact I can partially dismantle the new pole at night will make a difference. But who knows. So the saga of me versus the I-don’t-care-bear continues.
(NOTE: this is actually two Facebook posts I copied and pasted. I'm just not up to blogging a lot lately, since I am still hacking my way through the jungle of what is so delicately called "health issues". I do wonder sometimes if I am ever going to come out of this perilous woods. I feel all right, actually almost back to normal, but still have to have tests, and more tests, and lab work, and maybe even two more specialists on the other side of the lower mainland. It SUCKS and I want it to be over!)
