@ lilysgramma .. Thank you for the compliment!

@ Li-Li’s mom .. Who knows? Maybe the bear is workin’ on its fingerspelling? Try fingerspelling “pettifoggery” five times really fast and let me know how it goes.

@ Ann .. “probably telling their own war stories about encounters with strange two-legged creatures.” LOL .. True biz!

Li-Li’s Mom, and that bear’s furry pals are probably telling their own war stories about encounters with strange two-legged creatures and the greatest spots for trashcans full of yummy food scraps, lol.

Never really saw a black bear except a baby one that I petted at the petting zoo. There’s lots up north from me. Once I saw a fresh bear dump while mountain biking in them dense woods up north, I turned around fast and headed back to the parking lot.

aww, yeah, you shulda taken some pics like White Ghost said!

And glad you liked the story, too.

@ ally .. Thank you for the compliment and I am glad you liked the story, too. Next time I go hiking, do you wanna be my photographer? GO ALLY GO!!

you’re one lucky human!

White Ghost was right. You should’ve taken pictures of the bear. hahahaha!

“I felt my heart return to its original cavity and my chest relaxed enough for my mind to finally re-enter my brain.” LOL. What a hoot of a story.

In my neck o’ the woods, mind you, I LIVE here not just hiking or camping, we have all kinds of bear encounters. Once a cub bear climbed our huge mulberry tree in the backyard, munching on the berries. While standing on the elevated back porch and taking pictures of the cutie, I saw in the corner of my eye the apple tree shuddering and turned my head just-in-time to see mama bear climbing over our 7′ concrete brick wall only a few feet away. Well, you know the maxim, Never stand between a mama bear and her cub? I got the hell outta there. Yah, bears can climb all right, so forget about climbing a tree to escape a bear.

I’ve seen bears saunter down our driveway and make a beeline for our trashcans, while weeding in the garden only feet away. They have a real keen sense of smell for what’s tasty and dump the rest…all over the driveway. God forbid you leave any food in your car. One neighbor down the street had a convertible top pried off his car because he left some food overnight in it and the bear, well…

What you really don’t want to confront is a mountain lion. And I’ve seen one in my neighbor’s front yard directly across the street in broad daylight. Once a big cat like that has got you in its sights, you can’t outrun ‘em. That’s a poop moment. Guess that’s why I look out the windows first before I step out– bears, lions, and oh my! it’s wild out there.

Gee. I hope not.

@ Roschelle .. Thank you for the compliment.

Next time I go hiking, you’re going with me – that way, you can snap pictures for White Ghost. True biz!