Just One More Thing

Incessant barking from the neighbor’s dog at 2:30 AM this morning dragged my attention from sleeping to “WTF is that dog barking about.”

Grabbing a flashlight, I flipped on the outdoor lights and torch and headed out of the front door to the side yard alongside the garage where the dog had been barking. Had been barking; Cow Dog, as he’s named, was now quiet. Ten feet from the side yard, a low, guttural growl in the dark ahead slowed my beat. Thinking, “I don’t really need to know what’s there,” I turned around and admired the pretty almost full moon and then trotted back into the house.

This afternoon, a neighbor from the other side approached. “Hey, heads up. Found a large pile of fresh bear scat in my backyard by my travel trailer this morning.”

“Thanks,” I replied. I put one and one together. I don’t know how accurate my math is but I think it added up to a bear in the area.

Yep, local bear tracking software reported a bear was spotted by others within half a mile of my place yesterday. Nice to live alongside wildlife, as long as we keep a respectable distance.