Tiny the Bear Visit

Yesterday evening, I hiked with the Duo at sunset and captured a couple of photos in the magical light. This photo is unique, with R focused on me and Shyla focused on a scent. Usually, it's the other way around.

One of you said that R looked too serious and almost stern in a recent photo. This one shows his pure and lovely eyes - there's nothing stern about them!

This is the usual state of affairs, with Shyla's eyes glued unerringly on me.

I'm sure that both of them are keenly aware that Tiny the Black Bear has been tromping all over our forest. I found his huge tracks the other day, and then, later in the day, I hiked with the Duo. R wanted to roll on every one of Tiny's paw prints. I was amazed by how driven he was to roll in as much bear scent as possible.

One of the places that Tiny visited was our clearing. With our late and intense snowfall, it appears that the things bears often eat at this time of year are not available. Usually, our first bear visit to our clearing is in June. An April visit is unprecedented.

Alas, I didn't have my trail cameras aligned correctly for a bear standing up and trying to tear down the bird feeders. But, I still think that the photos and video are interesting. I posted a video at Youtube, and you can also watch it here.

I am concerned about Tiny's limp. When I first saw his tracks in early April, he was bounding through deep snow drifts, suggesting that he was feeling fine. In the video, he clearly favors his right front paw. I hope that he gets better soon. He's an institution around here in the spring and fall.

Many thanks to Trailcampro.com who are the reason that I have a video trail camera in our clearing!