[HairOfTheDog]

Actually, the last time we went in this area, we saw one of your kindred. A grand black bear all shiny and fat in the fall... He stood motionless on a log while we passed, probably 50-60 yards away... I expected that he would go splashing off through the bog and frighten the horses, but he didn't, and I don't think they saw him.

We don't freak about ticks here. I have rarely ever even seen them. Maybe it is too wet in the winter for them to thrive here?

[Corin Stormhands]

We don't freak about ticks here.

Come to Virginia, you can have our tics. I worked the National Scout Jamboree last year at Fort A.P. Hill. The Army basically napalmed the area before we came in because the tic problem is so bad.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Maybe it is too wet in the winter for them to thrive here?

Maybe, but they seem to thrive quite well in Northern Michigan, which is both wet and cold in winter. Of course, different ones thrive here in Texas, which is very dry. I hate the little blood-sucking, disease-carrying pests.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

I expected that he would go splashing off through the bog and frighten the horses, but he didn't

That surprises me a little, black bears are usually more timid than that. I wonder if he was starting to get sleepy for winter?