Where but in Alaska would the first trail grooming report from the local cross-country ski association note a problem with a trail user that just might maul someone? Yes, look out, another Mama Grizzly is on the prowl in the 49th state. And this one, according to reports, is a real bear:
"Groomer John reported 2 inches of snow up on the Hillside Trails. He’s rolling it down to a half-inch -- starting that all important base development. He also reported a “Big A**” bear wandering around up there. Last report this morning he (the bear) was walking down (a trail named) Double Bubble."
Later reports from numerous people who crossed the animal's tracks on the Hillside indicated this one might be traveling with a smaller companion, which would make the animal a "her" and not a "he." Adult male bears are solitary animals. Only sows travel with cubs, which they have to protect from other bears, especially males, that would like to kill them. The danger posed to cubs by other bears is thought to be part of the reason sow grizzlies are aggressively protective.
I posted this because I just let my daughter's dog out to relieve herself, and in a few minutes she started making this weird whining sound I have never heard her make before. I quickly got up to let her in, and she damn near knocked me down getting back into the house.
I have no idea if what was scaring her was bear related, but I will say that Hillside Park is just over a mile away, and that I have had a bear in my yard in the past. (My backyard is only few feet away from the wooded area behind my house.)
Sometimes people ask me if I am ever afraid to take on Sarah Palin while living in Alaska. The answer is "Of course not!" There are far more dangerous things wandering around out there than Sarah "freaking" Palin.
She can call herself a "Mama Grizzly" all she wants, but she will NEVER be as terrifying as the real thing.
The real thing, which just might be prowling my neighborhood as we speak.
Now if you will excuse me I have to go comfort a quivering canine.
Yeah something DEFINITELY scared this dog.
ReplyDeleteShe usually watches me eat breakfast like a vulture waiting for a sick armadillo to finally keel over. (She likes to lick my plate clean.)
But today she was nowhere to be seen and refused to leave the safety of the couch until I called her name, twice.
Smart dog. I'm reminded of the conversation between Luke and Yoda, when Luke says he's not scared. "You will be," said Yoda. "You will be."
ReplyDeleteWe have a problem with Mountain Lions where I live (the town is actually named after them) and an assortment of Coyotes, Foxes and Bobcats. As such I keep my cat in at night, she's not afraid of the things she should be afraid of (one time she stared down 4 raccoons).
ReplyDeleteQuite a few years ago I was cooking at a lodge in Iliamna. At 4 am one morning I stepped out the back door to go to the walk-in fridge in the next building and I was greeted with the moving rump of "Goldie," about 4 feet away. She was our resident garbage grizzly. I quietly backed into the building and shut the door.
ReplyDeleteThose little dark spots look a bit like the dotted pedicure pics of la palin so it may not be all that safe out there. Scarah AND a real grizzly would really be frightening.
ReplyDeleteWe had a possum stowaway in our garage once where we put our huge (indoor) cat to use his litter box. He suddenly began fighting and putting all four legs straddled against the door when it was time to give him a potty break and he would come back in the house visibly shaken. We blamed him for tearing into all the extra bags of cat food stored out there and it wasn't until one of my daughters went out and met the possum head-on that we figured out why Mr Mellow had gone catatonic. She didn't make it to the litter box unfortunately.
Hope your pup gets over her scare but don't you worry about a bear trying to break into the house?? yikes
We take our little dog down the street to the green belt, you can always tell if a coyote has recently been there, the dog will start shaking and absolutely not go off the sidewalk. He will sit down and will not move until we turn around and go home.
ReplyDeleteIronically, Sarah's tendency to use her kids as a human shields would negate her protective sow instincts she boasts so much about.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the bear Gryphen, hope your daughter's doggy doesn't become a pre-hybernation treat.
Hugs to the canine, scary way to start the day.
ReplyDeleteMy Montana friend's horse also behave oddly when a bear is near. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with them one day, when she noticed a shrub in the pasture had grown a pair of round black ears.
G, nature nearby is a indicator for a long life (if you dodge the more violent types).
I think you have it backwards. Politicians and and would be POTUS wanna be's are far more acary than any wild animal I have ever encountered. Wild ride?, gimme a break.
ReplyDeleteSarah honey, you really should schedule a pedicure into your busy housewife duties...those claws are really getting L O N G girlie!
ReplyDeleteYou have to truly feel pity for Sarah's children, as well as for her confused and delusional political cubs. At some point they're going to need help recovering from the mental abuse she's inflicted upon them.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the devil, no doubt she's hoping for a divided convention that will allow her to waltz in and get the nomination without putting in one ounce of effort. Who needs debates when you can get around them?
When Sarah says unconventional, think lazy and deceitful - you'll be closer to the mark.
I'm glad the dog was okay, apart from being badly spooked! Sending cuddles and reassurance her way!
ReplyDeletePlease tell me you are going to leash the dog and go out with her next time? :) Not that she would WANT to go off running in the woods though...but just in case. I have lots of coyotes in my 'hood. They come around almost nightly to sing to my dogs, one of which is a "Coydog" (1/2 coyote 1/2 Bulldog/Chow Mix) The howling starts around 3am. We have lots of Bald Eagles as well, yet my neighbors still let their cats roam at night. Breaks my heart. Their cats disappear and they wonder why? Oh yea, forgot about the occasional Gator. I live next to a swamp where Bull Sharks have their babies as well. I respect nature.....
ReplyDeletewish we could post pix on yer blog Gryph as i've got a couple of in your face shots of Ms Brown Bear on my girlfriends deck down in Bird Creek, about four feet away in your face...
ReplyDelete$carah, OTOH, is a coward blowhard skank griftin' fraud
Bill Hesse in Wasilla has a wonderful blog.
ReplyDeleteHe mentioned all of his cats going a bit bonkers in the early morning, though he couldn't figure out why. Something was prowling around his house.
We have black bears and their cubs, on our street periodically.
My "close call" with a bear was one I will never forget. After College, I landed a job in New York, but couldn't afford to live there, so I found this neat converted vacation cabin in the woods of Mt Freedom, NJ. It had one convenience store, a nite club, and a post office. Two cops, and the winters were brutal.
ReplyDeleteOne morning, I woke up to the cacoophony of roars and a sound I never heard before.
About 40 feet from my kitchen window, a mama black bear I had seen many times with her cubs "just passing through", was in a battle royale against a male black bear while protecting three cubs. The male eventually waived the white flag of surrender, but she stayed vigilant and vocal until he left.
The wierd sound I heard was my german sheppard whimpering like a poodle in a carwash, while trying desperately to fit under the sofa. It took a few days to calm him down, but I never let him unleashed after that.
Black Bears are dangerous, but timid, much smaller and less aggessive than Grizzlies. The problems start when humans get stupid and start feeding them.
And the "clean underwear" thing our mom's always pushed is good, but there ARE exceptions ;)
Hug your daughter's dog and give it lots of treats.