Bear Saga & a Lovely Irish Novella
Welcome to June at our little homestead--I'm glad you're here! This month, I share my recent run-in with wildlife and an unforgettable Irish read.
Close Encounter with a Bear…
It happened in a flash.
One minute I was stepping from the garden to the open shop door—the next, a rotund black mass was scrambling out of it.
A bear! In our shop.
Stunned into silence, I couldn’t believe my eyes as the bear scurried around the shop corner and vanished through our fence gate. I waited a couple of seconds, to make sure the bear wasn’t heading back in, then rushed into the house.
“John!” I called to my husband in his study. “You won’t believe what just happened!”
As I told him about our visitor, he looked as shocked as I felt. “Wow,” he marveled. “A bear. In the shop!”
“It wasn’t that big,” I said. “Could it have been a cub?” I once again saw the dark critter in my mind’s eye—this bear would have been a really large bear baby! “Wait—that doesn’t make sense. I don’t think black bears give birth while they’re hibernating.”
“I don’t think so either,” said John.
“Maybe it was a yearling?” I said. “Probably smelled the mousetraps.” John kept two peanut butter-baited mouse traps just behind the shop door. “I wonder if it was extra hungry, enough to actually come into our place.”
This spring, with April temperatures well below normal, the neighborhood bears seemed to have hibernated longer than usual. That’s my guess anyway—since we normally see the first spring bear scat on the road by the middle of April.
Judging from the first piles of scat that didn’t show up in the neighborhood until mid-May, the bears must have stayed under cover an extra three weeks or so. So they were probably extremely hungry.
I’m no stranger to bear sightings; I’ve had many over the years. Once, I saw a mama with three cubs crossing the road just ahead of me! But every time I’d seen bears, it was from a distance.
Not this time—this one was only a few feet away.
“Anyway,” I said to John, “this was the closest I’ve ever been to a bear.”
He chuckled a little. “I’ll bet it’s the closest you ever want to be to a bear!”
I laughed a little too. “Anyway,” I said, “I sure as heck won’t be leaving the gate or the door open anymore.”
I headed back outside, making sure to secure the gate and close the shop door firmly. I had to wonder if the local bears’ habits were changing.
It was clear John and I had to change our habits.
Here’s the thing: all these years, we had never felt like we needed to barricade our place. Like any other day we’re home, we had left our main fence gate open, all day. Also as usual, we kept the shop door wide open throughout the day.
But now, upon reflection, what were we thinking?
In every other way, from our first weeks here in the Foothills, John and I have been vigilant about following bear safety protocols. The county promotes a “Bear Smart” program, which is all about not leaving food—for humans or pets—available outdoors.
So for the last 17 years, we haven’t kept any non-compostable food waste in the garbage bin; we stow it in the freezer. And there it stays until we put it into the bin, just minutes before we haul it down to the main road for trash pickup.
While I would love to have more birds in our yard, we don’t keep a bird feeder. I’ve heard too many stories about bears destroying feeders—apparently they love snacking on bird yummies like suet, seeds and hummingbird nectar.
We very seldom eat outside; still, after one of our rare picnics in the yard, we are meticulous about collecting every paper plate, napkin, or cutlery with a speck of food on it and taking it into the house. Since we have mice in the shop, we make sure there’s no bits of food in the shop trash either.
As for my compost, it’s an outdoor pile in the woods. I like to think I turn it frequently enough to keep the materials decomposing steadily, and I generally cover the pile with leaves to reduce the odor. On occasion, I’ve added fresh herb prunings to mask fresh food smells.
I will admit, I’ve occasionally seen signs that some creature has been into the pile; still, I wasn’t too concerned.
But maybe I should be.
While it feels like John and I have taken every precaution, this is not the first time bears have come into our yard.
The bears that have previously breached our deer fence shared the same behaviors: They have always:
a) Targeted our orchard;
b) Invaded our yard only during the late summer, when our apple trees are dripping with fruit; and
c) Entered our place only at night.
The last time a bear got in, it did a number on the biggest stump in our yard—it actually tore the stump to shreds! The bear also climbed our crabapple tree near the stump. Besides eating about a third of the fruit, the critter’s weight broke it in half.
Plus this bear did another kind of number…that is, left an unmistakable calling card!
In any event, to have a bear not only in our yard, in the spring, and in our shop in broad daylight seemed really extraordinary.
I did a little research and discovered that my bear encounter isn’t actually all that unusual. For one thing, there are an estimated 25,000 bears in our state—and given all the sightings I’ve had, we’ve got plenty of them in our neighborhood.
I also discovered that black bears do give birth over the winter. They don’t actually hibernate per se; over the cold months they simply stay in their dens. They will reduce their activity level, though, and generally don’t eat.
So it makes perfect sense they are famished when they get active in spring. The most interesting factoid I learned is that bears can smell food from a mile away!
Learning all this, I wonder if all our bear safety stuff I mentioned made John and me a little too confident: that bears would never be much of a problem.
In fact, given the baited mousetraps we keep around, and our compost pile, we’ve probably been lucky not to have more bears around the yard!
Anyway, three days later, I was walking on our private lane, and saw a round black critter crossing the road ahead of me. I’m sure was the same smallish bear.
Of course, I stopped and waited until it disappeared into the woods on the other side. And waited some more, to make sure it stayed in the woods!
Yesterday, we told our next-door neighbor about our bear visitor, and she mentioned seeing a mama bear and new cub in her pasture just days ago. “The mother was a really small bear,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the one in your shop.”
Thinking about the round black animal that rushed out of sight within a second or two, it made sense. A lactating female, seeking food when our area’s wild salmonberries and plums won’t be ready for a couple of months, would be pretty creative about finding some eats.
Since bears perambulate on all fours, I can also see why she didn’t seem all that big to me—in fact, though I thought she was small, she was actually average size! Apparently female black bears are only about two and a half feet high on all fours, and can weigh as little as 100 pounds.
And while you can color me very surprised by this incident, and a bit worried, I’m not exactly freaked out.
Since we’ve always had bears in our neighborhood, I cling to the conventional wisdom that black bears are more afraid of you than you are of them. Years ago, a friendly State Fish & Wildlife ranger told us the same thing.
In fact, I keep it top of mind, given how fast black bears can run: up to 30 miles an hour!
Still, I’m taking a more cautious approach.
Ever since the day of the shop bear, John and I have kept to our new safety measures with the door and gate. And while I can’t quite believe that the bear could smell the frozen meat and berries inside the upright freezer just 10 feet from the door…
I wouldn’t put it past them!
Update:
Just before this post was ready to go live, here’s what showed up in our yard…
I wouldn’t have ever guessed that bears eat spinach, but here you are!
On the upper right, there’s the collapsed poultry wire and net around one of our strawberry beds. You can’t tell from the photo, but the bear tore up the net, damaged lots of plants and gobbled many berries. And that’s only the beginning of what it got into.
So there’s definitely more to this bear story—which you’ll find in the Little Farm Writer July issue. Stay tuned!
More Wildlife Out of the Wild!
On my weekly Little Farm in the Foothills blog, I chat about my latest food gardening adventures. This past month, smaller critters have been front and center:
If you’re raising asparagus, you might want to check out a couple of recent posts. In “Asparagus Trouble, Part 1” and “Asparagus Beetles, Part 2” I talk about a first-time infestation of destructive beetles in my asparagus patch and how to eliminate them.
I hope you’ll take a look!
Back to our little corner of Ireland…
You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m passionate about our little homestead. Still, a girl can’t garden all the time; I also love to read. And being a fan of all things Irish, I’m particularly fond of Irish memoirs and novels!
I just finished a touching little novella, Foster, by Irish author Claire Keegan. The premise is deceptively simple: In rural Ireland, in the 1980s, a young Irish girl, neglected by her overwhelmed, pregnant mother and shiftless father, is sent away to some distant relations for the summer.
Foster, which I requested at our local library, is a deep exploration of the inner life of this quiet, thoughtful little girl, along with themes of family, love and grief. I actually identified more than a little with this character.
I too was a very quiet child from a large Irish (-American) family. My dad and mom were loving, but very busy with their careers—so their fallback parenting style was “children should be seen and not heard,” and “do as you’re told.”
I don’t read a lot of literary fiction—the stories I’ve read about unprotected little Irish girls are often unspeakably tragic. As I read Foster, I kept looking for hints and hidden meanings that would reveal this child’s sad fate.
But ultimately, I found none. True devotion and tenderness suffuse this short, quiet novella.
As soon as I was done, I read the story all over again, no longer be watchful for those dreadful hints I mentioned, and found great pleasure in the lovely, musical Irish speech.
While there’s human frailty in the characters, I loved the portrayal of rural Irish life from 40 years ago—a slower, simpler time, in which people felt a deep sense of community.
Foster was adapted into an Irish-language film called “The Quiet Girl” in English, and it won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film.
I checked out the movie’s storyline on Wikipedia, and discovered the plot is quite a bit more dramatic than the novella. Still, I can’t wait to see the film version!
If you enjoy Irish books, you’ll find my favorites, non-fiction and fiction, on my Susan Colleen Browne website!
Book News:
While we’re on the subject of Irish fiction…this spring, I created an ebook box set of my first four Village of Ballydara novels!
Last November, I shared a photo of my “story ideas” box, and wrote a bit about where writers’ stories might come from, and where those ideas can end up! Reflecting on some of my writerly inspiration, I decided to give you a wee “behind the scenes look” at two of my novels, Mother Love and The Galway Girls…
Mother Love, my second published novel, is what I’ll call a “rom-dramedy.” This is a term new to me, but it perfectly describes Mother Love’s mix of romance, humor, and family drama.
While I was writing this novel, I came across a couple of “bits” that inspired the dynamic between my hero and heroine, Rafe Byrne and Grainne Larkin.
Grainne wants Rafe in every way, but she has absolutely no intention of falling in love with him:
“If you want someone to love you, open your heart…
If you want someone to be obsessed with you, close it.” —Anonymous
When it comes to Rafe’s feelings, his romantic problems would be over if he could settle for less rapture, and an easier relationship! But when it comes to Grainne, who has her share of thorns, he can’t help himself. Here’s an intriguing line:
“…I would change in a trice, the lilies and languor of virtue, for the rapture and roses of vice.”—Charles Swinburne
As for the The Galway Girls…
The novel follows two warmhearted love stories, interwoven with the devoted friendship between two Irish thirty-somethings, Kerry and Fiona. A lot of my experiences at our little homestead inspired Kerry, my gardening, farm-loving protagonist.
Plus there’s chickens!
Her best friend Fiona is more of a city girl. Here’s a couple of pics of the Galway Cathedral, a 20th century church built to resemble medieval-era style, where John and I spent a transporting afternoon.
In The Galway Girls, it was just outside the Cathedral where Fiona’s romantic fate was sealed!
The Village of Ballydara Box Set ebook is at your favorite retailers like Amazon, Kobo, Apple and Barnes & Noble. It’s also available for free at your local library—just put in a request!
Do you have any favorite Irish stories? Please share in the comments, or you can reply to this email!
To the new subscribers who joined Little Farm Writer this month, thank you so much. And to all my subscribers, I truly appreciate every one of you.
As always, thank you for sharing your time with me. And if you liked this post, I hope you’ll hit the ❤️ button—it can help other folks discover Little Farm Writer!
To me, the June sunshine seems gentler and breezes softer than any other time of year. Whether you’re gardening, reading or simply reveling in being outdoors, I hope you’re enjoying all the pleasures of early summer!
~Susan, from the Foothills
Goodness!
And all I have to worry about is keeping rabbits out of the vegetable garden!
A great story to read and as well, I'm off to have a look at the little novella and your own backlist. Cheers!
Hi Sue,
I just ordered "Foster" and I see it has very good ratings. I'm nearly finished with my chemist lady book, and will be ready for a new read. Much love, Mom