June 2009 Excitment in the midst of persistant rain

Another "old note" I found that I found quite funny recollecting. In the midst of our rainiest season on record, we had some interesting excitement. If my Dad were still alive, he would've been thrilled also! Guess that's where I get it from!

Yesterday we got home from doing errands on Bob's usual Thursday off, and the horses were out in the paddock on frozen statue high alert looking off into the direction of the pond. This was interspersed with panicked running to and fro, and then to their gates, in circles, when they saw our car (what I like to call the THANK GOD YOU'RE BACK; HURRY COME AND GET ME!!!!! ritual). It had been raining off and on all day, but thanks to Bob Anderson, our gorgeous new shelters were there to keep them dry. Tango and Marcus were in and out of theirs, but Falina and Beau would NOT venture near theirs at all. They were drenched. I have seen them in the shelter before, so they have used it. But it seemed to me that something had been near them, on the woods side and down towards the back pond, that freaked them out.

We unloaded our car and promptly brought them in so they could relax and dry out in their stalls, with their in/out run ins open for the night as usual. After an hour or so, everyone was back to their tranquil state and all was well. We figured we'd never know what went on, but were hoping it was not the sound of the rain on the metal roof scaring them.

Today, more rain, and the horses had an extended breakfast in their stalls. I figure with all the wet and rain and dreariness, there was no rush to get them out to the paddock, and they were all very content chewing hay and hanging out "on the barn side."

Well, we just got back from turning them out onto the paddock. In our "travels" Bob noticed something in the field that was very unusual and unfamiliar to us. We are accustomed to seeing deer droppings all around, but this was NOT deer droppings. We marveled at it between walking horses in and out(yes, marveled!!), and then sort of studied it before we went on to the rest of our chores. I was about to start paying bills on line (my first at home chore for the day) and told Bob I was going to first see if I could find a "wildlife poop identification" website (he thought that was quite funny). Well, I did, and I want to share what I found with you all. The picture you see is what is out in our field.

Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

Photo compliments of Jennifer Schloth. Note the size of the droppings in comparison to the shovel. Bear droppings can be huge. They can also exhibit a wide variety of colors depending on what the bear is eating.

Be sure to measure diameter of scat as it is useful to distinguish from other droppings.


Black bear droppings. Photo by Jennifer Schloth

WOW!!!!!!!!! That explains the horses being nuts yesterday!! For the record, our "scat" is NOT huge, but about medium dog size. Our bird feeders are still intact, and we've yet to see our visitor, but we are both excited and hope to catch a glimpse. We have heard on the news that this is the time of year when they are most active, leaving their dens with their babies. They are black bear, are not typically carnivorous, most active at night, not as big as one may think and are prevelant in our area. Our neighbor next door Kathy (the horse is next door, her house is across the street) has seen one in her yard and crossing Valley Road frequently, so we are assuming it is the same bear. We will be monitoring our bird feeders and bringing them in at night if necessary, but so far, nothing has been disturbed. Because our property butts up to 150+ acres of conservation, has lots of thick underbrush and wetlands, it is a great "home" for the black bear. As you all know Bob and I are both avid wildlife lovers, so this is very exciting for us!

I've done some research and everything I've learned has told me that neither we nor our animals have any reason to worry, and we are very excited to think we may catch a glimpse of a real life wild black bear. We see deer, hawks and turkeys regularly (we were woken one night by the motion light out the back of our bedroom to find a doe munching around the vernal pool out our window, subsequently the light's been turned off). We have seen procupine, "herds" of butterfly and dragonfly, large woodpeckers, owls, fox, fisher cate, and coyote (they sound so mesmorizing at night) but this is truly exciting. Makes me smile because if my Dad were here, he'd be off in search of said bear. Dad and I had a great common interest in wildlife! AND I just got our video camera working so that we can use it with the computer. Who knows, we may just be sharing a video of the visitor in our yard sometime with you all soon!