The Pear Thief

We had a visitor this week.  I was making supper and John was watching TV.  Our cat Amos was lounging on his perch in the picture window.  Suddenly Amos sprang to his feet, hyper-alert.  John looked out the window and saw a black bear!  The bear was good-sized; he sauntered by the front porch, sniffed around the driveway, and helped himself to an armload (paw-load?) of pears from our tree.  He didn’t stay long and our only photo opportunity was through window screen… but you get the idea.  Last night something ate a third of my corn crop, so he may have been back for a snack.

Another Weaverville acquaintance recently fell asleep in a lawn chair in her back yard.  She awakened to a tickle — a bear was licking her arm!  She froze and waited for him to move on, he did eventually.

It’s time for the black bears to fatten up for winter.  They are vegetarian; they eat acorns, berries, etc.  When there is not enough of those foods, they begin venturing into residential areas.  (Not that we are in a residential area; our closest neighbors are cows.)  But I have heard of a few sightings around town.

Anyway, the pear thief provided our excitement for the weekend.