Copy that, Dave. We've had a pretty bad drought here, and lots of beasties are having trouble finding chow. Last summer, I saw bear tracks close to the house. Then closer. In June, I shot a problem cat, and guess I didn't bury it deeply enough, because a couple of days later I saw that it had been dug up. Soon after that, I was rattled out of sleep at 3 AM with the sound of pots and pans banging and clanging. Another little black bear was reaching through my kitchen window screen to get last night's unwashed supper dishes.
Bleary-eyed, I ran out the back door (right next to the kitchen window) yelling at the stupid beast. When we were face-to-face, five feet from one another, and he didn't run off, I realized I was nearly naked, and barefoot. Wrong time for such realizations. Since I was now awake, I decided to step back into the house. I think the bear was as grateful for the door closing as I was.
So, I moved to the kitchen window, and bravely yelled at the foolish transgressor. Now, it should be clear to all that I would have gone outside and kicked him in the butt, except I didn't have any shoes on. <G> After ten minutes or so, he was still hanging around, and had torn another window screen. Enough was enough. So, I got a pistol and shot over his head a few times. He left.
He came back a couple of times after that. Eventually, I wound up putting two rounds of .22 snakeshot into him. Sorta hated to do it, he was just looking for chow. But, he decided there were easier pickings elsewhere.
jim
BTW -- after traveling the Alcan south as a 10-year-old, I remember getting breakfast in a Washington cafe and hearing a radio announcement that Alaska was then the 59th state. Even as a youngster, I recall thinking that it was a shame that Alaska was joining the rest of the world. Thank the Lord I wasn't born no later than I was. |
