First Bear Sighting

I saw a bear for the first time, only three days ago!  I was in my tent, dawn had barely illumined the woods, and I heard a soft padding o'er the ground, quieter than even a deer.  I looked out the window and there he was, striding towards camp, immensely agile, like a cat.  His coat was blackest black, pitch-black, and luminous, precisely groomed.  He was absolutely stunning.

Cautiously he strode to the wood pile thirty feet away.  He sniffed the air, and then turned around, re-traced his steps, and circled the unmarked perimeter of my property, as if honoring boundaries somehow.  I was more exhilarated than scared.  Though he was so large and strong, immediately I saw the care with which he moved, his tentative manner.  This was no marauding monster.  Here was a careful, sensitive creature, more concerned for his well-being than with harassing a new neighbor.  I was awed with the privilege of seeing this creature.

Seeing the bear has helped me immensely.  Call it "God", "Goddess", or the "Universe", it feels as though I was provided the opportunity to find that the animal is NOT going to maul me in my tent (as AK fondly suggested) — unless, of course, I slather myself in honey!  I dare say the bear was better at honoring boundaries than are many human beings!

Bear sightings in this area are rare.  Some of my neighbors have gone thirty years and never seen a bear.  Yet Charlie has made their acquaintance three times in the last two years, and I, in only my second day in the woods, have had the honor.  Seems they appear to the timid among us who've struggled with fears inordinate all our lives.  They embolden us, as if to say "peer in the face of pure power; see how careful it can be, how thoughtful and serene."

I want to remind everyone NEVER to feed the bears.   Wild animals accustomed to people feeding them can become extremely dangerous.  Case in point:  cayotes have never been known to attack people, but now are doing so in parts of California where tourists have been feeding them in the parks.