Black Bear Saturday

It's a beautiful spring day in Alaska, one of many we've had lately. I had mentioned yesterday that bear have been spotted on the back side of base, but nothing around here yet. Russ went out on his morning jog. When he came back to the house, he decided to check on Brandon. Brandon and his friends were playing at the park out behind our house. Russ snuck up on them to see if they would notice him, and of course, they didn't. He told the boys that they needed to be aware of their surroundings, because the park is right beside the woods, and bear are moving around lot this time of the year. He was on his way back into our house when he looked over in the woods and saw this fine gentleman. The bear saw Russ and took off up a tree. Now we have a standoff. He just wanted to get out of there, but he wasn't sure what Russ would do about it. Russ was standing between him and the kids, so he wouldn't run the wrong way.

Russ called out to me and Jess and we got to check him out, too. He was quite a good looking young man. He did not enjoy the attention, though, and just wanted to get back to the woods.

Pretty soon, he had his fill of admiration, climbed down from the tree and took off down the hill. I'm just glad that I got to see at least one more black bear before we leave Alaska. Now if I can just figure out where Bob has gone off to...

Also Free To Good Home...

Anyone need a nice black bear? He's probably not too good with kids or pets, but I'm sure he has his redeeming qualities. Remember when I mentioned that a black bear woke up from his winter slumber a couple of weeks ago and treed a guy at a local park? Well, heeeessss baaaaackkkk! And he has not been a good boy. Seems he's been hanging out in the park and chasing the cross country skiers. Then he REALLY crossed the line. On Wednesday morning, he got onto a porch outside someones bedroom window and peeked into their bedroom. That's not the worst of it. He then proceeded to nuzzle through an empty case of Budweiser Select that was sitting on the porch. That's where we draw the line, Mister. If there had been beer in that case, he'd have been shot dead right then and there. Luckily for him, it was empty, so they put an APB out on him with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Yes, they plan on shooting him. They won't even attempt to capture and relocate him, because there is just nowhere to put him. If you don't believe me, just ask Rick Sinnott, a biologist with Fish and Game.

"The biggest problem with moving bears out of Anchorage is neither the Kenai, the Mat-Su Valley nor the area across Knik Arm from us wants any of our bears," Sinnott said. "They're chock full of their own bears and they have their own bear problems."

So if anyone out there has some room at their house (and a REALLY big kennel), maybe you can cut a deal with Rick and have him send the bear to you. You know you want him. You can hang out and read Winnie The Pooh stories to each other.

Redoubt and Black Bear

The excitement with the volcano continues, but for Anchorage, the worst seems to have passed us by. Luckily for us, the winds have been traveling north, so we haven't had any ash in the area. Flights heading north have been cancelled, but traffic to the south seems to be running smoothly today. It has given us plenty to talk about, though. I heard that we had 5 major eruptions at last count (could have been more or less, so don't quote me on that!), and the largest ash cloud shot about 60,000 feet in the sky. That impressive, by anyone's standards! Not much to see on the Redoubt web cams, though.

Apparently I was not the only one around here with visions of Spring dancing through my head this past week. A large black bear woke from his winter slumber last weekend, and decided to head out and pick up a little snack. Unfortunately, most snack foods for bear are still covered by several feet of snow. Mr. Bear was cruising around the park near the Campbell Airstrip. Enter a gentleman out for an afternoon of fresh air and exercise. (Once again, reinforcing my theory that exercise is not always good for you.) Mr. Bear said "Why lookie here! Fast food!" The gentleman took offense to this idea and proceeded to climb a tree. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but don't black bear climb trees? Aren't they EXCELLENT tree climbers? Why yes they are, but if you are in the woods with a hungry bear, no other humans around, and no way to escape said bear, you at least want to make him work a little bit for his meal. Now we have a man in a tree with Mr. Bear hanging out down below, tying to decide whether he should shake it a little and see if the meal will fall down or just head up and fetch it. Luckily for the man, another group of hikers came upon the scene, and they happened to have some dogs with them. The dogs chase the bear off and the man climbs down to safety. They all head back to the trial head, with Mr. Bear following at a not so discreet distance. The next time this gentleman considers a brick walk through snow during Spring Breakup, he might think again. Hmmmmm. That second cup of coffee is sounding pretty good, and maybe I'll just walk around the mall a bit after breakfast. Who needs all that pesky fresh air anyway?

Fur Rondy Hide Auction

I was taking a break from trying to teach the cats how to meow in Dutch (trust me, it's not as easy as you think!), and decided to check out the website for the Fur Rondy Hide Auction. There were some issues with the auction last year and it didn't take place, so those hides will be added to this year's auction. They result is 117 hides up for you to bid on. They expect to set all kind of records with the money raised, and are trying for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The bulk of the proceeds goes to the Fish and Game Commission, but $500 will will go to local scholarships for wildlife management students. The hides include goat, black bear and other critters. They come from illegal kills, animals killed by state personnel because they were a danger or nuisance, and those killed by citizens to protect life and property. Check out the link to their website below and put in a bid for your own little piece of Alaska. You can own a bear hide without the danger involved in hunting it down. Just think of the stories you can make up to tell your family and friends about how you got it! http://grubstakeauction.com/FUR2009-2.htm I loved the note on the website that says "Don't bring your dog to the auction. The salt used to preserve the hide will harm your pet."

Another Summer of the Bear

It's still frozen outside, and I don't feel the need to get out there and take pictures this morning (it's -24!), so I thought I'd share some more summer pictures. Warm thought, warm thoughts, warm thoughts........ These are some of my favorite pics, and ironically, I did not take them. Russ did. Interesting story behind how that happened. Crazy wife, protective husband, etc. We had gone to the Zoo two summers ago and were on our way home. We were coming up the hill into our subdivision on base, when we saw something black run across the road in front of us. I was so surprised, that I only got one picture of the bear running into the woods on our right. It was far off and a little bit blurry, so of course, I had to have a better pic. I believe my exact words were "PULL OVER QUICK SO I CAN GET SOME PICTURES! TURN RIGHT ON THE FIRST STREET!" I think Russ said something to the effect of "ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU ARE NOT CHASING A BLACK BEAR INTO THE WOODS JUST TO GET A PICTURE!" After some fast negotiating, Russ said he would take a picture for me. You have no idea how hard this was for me. I do not hand over the camera easily. The kids and I sat in the truck and he walked behind the house to get my picture. We couldn't see where he went, and he was gone a rather long time. I was ready to open the door and go search for him when not one, but two black bear came out from behind the houses. I was more than a little concerned at this point. Still no hubby. After checking things out, the bear headed back into the woods, and the hubby returned from behind the houses. Apparently, when Russ went around the building to check for the bear, he saw nothing but woods. He was standing very still, and suddenly a black face appeared in the brush, watching him in return. It was sniffing the air, and came out of the woods toward him. Russ slowly backed up to the houses, ready to escape if needed, when another black shape emerged from the bushes. These were the siblings that our family refers to as Burt and Ernie. I have no idea if they are boys or girls. (Do you really want to get close enough to check??) They are very curious bears.

Russ watched them for quite a while as they checked out the jogging trail and some of the back patios in the area.

I always knew that exercise could be hazardous!

Occasionally, the bears got nervous and retreated back into the woods, only to cautiously come back out again.

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of summers past in Alaska. It won't be long now. Think warm thoughts, warm thoughts, warm thoughts...

Summer of the Bear

Every day is a buffet, if you just know where to look. Our neighborhood has been very popular with the black bear this summer. They tend to hit the dumpsters around 5:30 or 6 am, before the traffic picks up. My husband was trying to decide what was worse, me standing in the driveway and taking pictures of the bear, or the fact that I was standing there wearing neon striped pajamas (he refers to them as my "clown suit") while taking the pictures. It was a tough call. I would think that the worst thing was the officer trying to get handcuffs on the bear. Littering is a crime, mister, and no one is exempt from the law!