We now have woods and, as soon as we take possession of the property, I plan to enjoy them to the max. My heart thrills when I hear the wind in the leaves of tall trees!
There is also a bear who meanders through every couple of weeks. Any tips for handling that?
be sure to take pix of the woods (especially night pix) & send to LJ so she can include in her nightly blessing posts
Regarding the bear, steer clear, and don’t go between momma and her cubs.
And keep a stout sidearm around if you’re out wandering away from the house.
They generally stay clear of people but you do want to defend yourself if it attacks. And they move pretty quickly for something that bkg.
Don’t leave food out in the car, the yard, or garbage unprotected because they’re like giant raccoons and they take on the challenge of peeling open anything with good food in it.
12 ga Knoxx stock 2 00 buck then slugs.
53% of women chose the bear. Just hope you never encounter a man in the woods.
Woods!!! What kind of trees?
We have brown bears here, maybe the same kind you have. We’ve had bears roaming on our property, before we fenced it. If you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone. They have one interest: FOOD. They are more or less omnivores, they even eat blackberries and of course small animals etc.
One important thing: Do NOT put kitchen garbage in the trash. They WILL knock over garbage cans to get to it, and then will consider your property an all you can eat buffet.
We compost all kitchen garbage in a pile and cover with dirt. Bears don’t want to eat food mixed with dirt.
Also, never ever get between a mother bear wit cubs. If you see them, back away and go away.
Don’t put out a birdfeeder he could get at, like on a pole. And have a good trash bin that just goes out on trash day. Diana would probably have some good tips.
If you have to shoot him, bear is good eating.
From ‘Rural Sprout’ website:
If you have bears coming to your property, it’s likely for one big reason, you’re feeding them, whether you mean to or not. Black bears can smell food from up to 20 miles away, so it’s really no wonder that they frequent homesteads, which are chock full of food.
Biggest bear draws on the homestead:
Trash or food left outside
Compost
Beehives
Livestock food
Animals giving birth
Newborn, injured or dead livestock
Crops, Berry bushes, fruit trees & nut trees
Stocked ponds
(Diana here: I would add Bird Feeders to the list. If they hold a lot, take them in at night or with platform feeders - which I use - I only fill them once in the am, then let them stay empty until the next morning)
How to protect each of the above, at the link below.
https://www.ruralsprout.com/deter-bears/
My heart thrills when I hear the wind in the leaves of tall trees!
watch out for falling branches when that wind whips up! We had tall firs all around the house in Shelton and I had some close calls, thrills & chills.
Leave it alone... don't feed it! 👴
Offer the bear a sip of your favorite adult beverage, and everything will be fine.
There is also a bear who meanders through every couple of weeks.
********************************
As my mama used to say, “If you can’t laugh, you’re hurting.”
Remembering her wonderfully crazy sense of humor, I share this movie line quote:
“I, Hatchet Jack, being of sound mind and broke legs, do leaveth my bear rifle to whatever finds it. Lord hope it be a white man. It is a good rifle, and kilt the bear that kilt me. Anyway, I am dead. Yours truly, Hatchet Jack.”
😍
“There is also a bear who meanders through every couple of weeks. Any tips for handling that?”
Two thoughts:
1) We have lots of bears where I live in Montana - they are mostly active at night, still I see them in the day. My neighbor about three houses to the North actually has a small black bear who has set up home under one of his decks. What can you do? Have a Rainier beer and chill out. If your time is up — it’s up. STAY AWAY FROM MOOSE!
2) We recently sold our RV...we occasionally rented it out. I always asked the renter if they would like a can of bear spray (the typical answer was YES!) One dumb-dumb from VA said the obligatory ‘YES’ then said: “So how does this bear spray work? Like if we are sitting at a picnic table do we spray it on the ground around the table to keep them away?”
I did not give him the spray.
Ammonia in the trash can will keep them (and raccoons too) out (and pretty much anywhere else where you could leave a cap full or small container that you don’t want things getting into).
Shooting them with a tazer apparently works really well for repeat offenders...