Wednesday 7 May 2008

Bear in the Backyard



Here's a little video I made of a recent visitor in the backyard.

He's been making rather regular visits of late, attracted by bird feeders and composters. Hopefully, he'll head up to the hills soon.

There are lots of bears in the wilderness near where we live. Unfortunately, the rapid development in our community has displaced a lot of their habitat....

7 comments:

Heinz N Frenchie said...

That is priceless! What a great clip. It was amazing how easily he scaled the fence. Thanks for a very entertaining video. You have to put it on youtube. Was that a cat scampering by as the bear left?

Dave Dixon said...

Heinz and Frenchie

I'm glad you enjoyed the video - and it is on You Tube! I, too, am impressed by how agile a bear is. Lucky our fence is strong enough.

That blur of something was just something on the window coming into focus.

Jammer said...

Cool! Love the bear!

I just dropped by your blog because I am a big guy looking for a scooter. (a Google search brought me here)

Exactly how big are you? I'm 6'6" and 340 pounds. Someone said I should look at 400-650cc scooters (!), but that sounds more like a motorcycle than a scooter. If I could get by with a little 50cc, I'd be happy.

I live in the Boston area, and at the top of a fairly steep hill, so shocks (potholes) and horsepower are legitimate concerns, but I don't know how badly a smaller scooter would perform.

I mainly want it for commuting. (I work about 1.5 miles from home and own a comic shop at the bottom of my hill. Yeah, I know the exercise does me good, but I need a good lazy alternative, since I'm using the family car way too much.)

Thanks for any advice! Great blog!

Steve Williams said...

We have bears in the neighborhood that come down from the mountain but I have never seen one relaxing so serenely.

My dog wouldn't like a visitor like that in her yard...

Steve Williams
Theoretical Agriculture
Scooter in the Sticks

Dave Dixon said...

jammer
I'm 6'2" and about 260. I don't fly on mine but nobody really does on 50ccs. The Vespa is a bigger scoot so I don't look funny - that's a real problem with the Honda Jazz (Metro in the US) because if you're tall, it's like a clown bike.

There are times, like when I'm going up a big hill or I'm on a major road that I wish I had a bit more power - say a 150 - but 50 ccs is fine most of the time.

My advice - take one for a test drive. I see there's a Vespa dealership in Boston. The Vespas are a bit pricier but are more solid which is good for us big guys!

Steve
My dog was barking his fool head of and actually got out and tried to leap over the fence and get him. Luckily my dog's fondness for food prevented him making the big leap....

Conchscooter said...

People in some countries use goats to mow their grass. I guess Canadians do it differently. As for baiting the bear through a plate glass window- thank heavens for National Health Insurance...I think I prefer comatose alligators in the backyard.

Dave Dixon said...

conchscooter

Bears make poor grass cutters - they tend to leave before the job is done and their deposits are, well, not very fragrant.

That actually wasn't baiting - we're supposed to scare them away. Unfortunately, this bear wasn't very scared...