Interesting, there was a lengthy article in the Greenville (SC) News Sunday about bears in the upstate of SC and the NC mountains and shortly after I put down the paper a neighbor came by, all excited, saying they'd just seen a bear run thru our property.
We have a summer place just inside NC's Transylvania County and occassionally we'll see a black bear but, personally, we've never had problems, although some around have had raiders tear up this or that. Even the sighting of the bear passing thru the yard did not bother me much because its happened before but yesterday morning a new twist was added. I woke to see garbage scattered all thru the back yard! It was an unpleasant task recovering a weeks worth of garbage from 3 houses scattered across the yard but I just couldn't bear to look at it anymore(**).
Of course now we'll have to take steps to lesson our social bearing to our natural guest but it remains in the back of my mind, just how bolden will one get? We pretty much leave our house open, with only a screen door to the outside and even the regular wooden doors will deter few. There's only woods behind us, for miles. So, just to be cautious I have taken a 20 gauge 1100 up there and some #3 buckshot, just in case. It's a gun that my wife and daughter would feel comfortable with and should be effective at very close ranges, like the back porch!
The newspaper article said it was the time of year for young male bears to roam. Guess its right. I know I have proven the old adage; bears DO poop in the woods! (Left a large pile within 3' of an abandoned outhouse!) I don't look for bears to threaten life and limb up there, in NC, but perhaps property. I can just imagine the aftermath of a hungry, young bear in our kitchen after he smelled a pie or bread cooling on the counter! Yogi bear and BooBoo don't live in NC!
