A mother bear and her three cubs have been cutting through our backyard all spring and summer. Our house backs up to a steep hillside covered with trees and we think the den must not be too far away. They’ve worn paths through the little clearing on the other side of the creek where we have a firepit and a bench.
Of course, Mama and the Cubs aren’t the only bears around. Black bears have gotten so frequent in our community that hardly anyone even raises an eyebrow when one strolls through the yard or crosses the road. But we did find out that it can be pretty exciting when they cross one another.
Mama and the Cubs were ransacking our bird feeder when Mama suddenly shooed all three little ones up a tree at the corner of our deck and then hauled up there after them where she began to blow and clack her teeth furiously. A second bear had wandered into the area. We hollered and carried on until the second bear skulked away and then we looked up in the tree to see what Mama was doing. She had gotten comfortable–backside on one branch and front feet drapped over a higher branch so that she looked like she’d pulled up a chair to a bar. The three cubs were higher up in the tree, playing. Mama blinked down at us, then pillowed her head on her front paws and as best we could tell, took about a 45 minute nap.
It’s always dangerous to anthropomorphize animals, but it really did seem that she trusted us to watch over her. She’s also been known to run the cubs up that same tree and then disappear. As if she knows we’ll babysit for her.
Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”