I had a "little" visitor on Saturday morning--this is the second time he has come to see me. My hummingbird feeder is now officially toast......
Some parts of the country deal with hurricanes, some with earthquakes, and some with tornadoes, but we only have to deal with wildfires and the true "locals"! The last time he came to visit, he just looked in my living room window (sorry for the glare on the picture, but when you are running for your camera, you don't have too much time to set up a perfect shot....):
Basically, he just wandered around a bit (after tearing down the hummingbird feeder, of course....) and then wandered off down the street.
I love having the wildlife around, but the problem with bears is that they are destructive. If I knew he would not do any damage, I would be fine with him here. My fear, though, is that he will break through one of my windows. I don't think I would ever call animal control on them, though, as in Colorado we have a "2 strikes and you're out" policy for bears. If they are caught once interacting with humans, they are tagged and relocated. If they are caught a second time, they are killed. I would hate to see that happen because of me, since I am the one who moved into bear country--not the other way around.
In any case, one reason the bears are so active right now is that there is definitely a noticeable change in the air. We are having a lot more afternoon storms, with low clouds hanging over the mountains--the first signs of fall's approach. I have even seen a FEW trees with a bit of color in the leaves, and most of the aspens seem to be turning a little bit lighter in preparation for their big show. Within about 5 weeks, we will probably be at the peak of our fall colors.
Summers can be VERY short up here--but at least it means ski season is not that far away.
I'll keep you posted!
Steve
These pictures were taken after the snowstorm of August 16, 2008. Above shows the fresh snow at the top of the Breckenridge ski area. Some areas received as much as 6", and CDOT had to put up chain controls on I-70 to the Eisenhower Tunnel--NOT normal in August.
