It's a BEAR!

I had been told that neighbors here in Virginia had spotted a momma bear with two cubs around here.  No one had a camera handy, so no photos were available for proof.  Even so, I thought it would really be cool to see one - or three - before we left.

Throughout the day I'm always scanning the fields and treelines for any kind of wildlife.  Sometimes it seems there are deer within sight all day long; other times I may not see any.  Now with winter setting in I occasionally get the binoculars for a close up look.  From time to time there is a buck with the doe, and his antlers get bigger every day it seems.

Yesterday about 4:30 in the afternoon I was looking out the kitchen window through the binoculars at a buck and three doe.  Sometimes there are as many as thirteen deer, so I was scanning to the right to see if there were any more deer coming out of the treeline.  What I thought, at first glance, was a big dog became, as I adjusted the binoculars, a black BEAR!  Awesome!

Camera!?!  Is it fully charged?  It's almost dusk; will it even have enough light to grab the picture?

Uh-oh, John is due home from work any minute - what if he pulls up not knowing the bear is there?!

Where's the cell phone?  I need to call our landlord/hosts, too.

How can I do all of this simultaneously AND keep an eye on the bear!?!  Aargh.

First things first - a picture.  I go outside, zoom out as far as possible, get a quick picture, and then back the lens off and take another.  Then I dial John's number.  No, better call Cheryl and Jerry first to let them know, in case they need to get their cat and the cat food in so as not to tempt the bear.  Maybe I can do both - one on the cell and one on the house phone...  This is gettin' crazy.

Just then John pulls in the driveway.  I grab up the camera again and run outside to give it to him - he's a better photographer than I am - and that way I can call Cheryl while he snaps away.  The bear has moved a lot closer to us, but John's closing the van door scares him away.  John was able to get a couple of photos, but they look suspiciously like those famous Big Foot sightings. 

 Seems the first photo I took is the best of the lot:

But here's the second, just so you can see them all:

I never was able to get Cheryl to answer the phone, so I emailed her the picture.  She said Jerry REALLY wanted to see the bear himself.  Sorry, I tried... just couldn't get everything done at once.  But now there IS photographic proof that she's out there, so we will just have to keep our eyes peeled.  I'm guessin' I won't get anything done for days (if not weeks) for staring out the windows!

I wonder if she was stalking the deer?  I wonder where her cubs were?  I wonder how a bear-skin rug would look hangin' on the wall of my log cabin!!