Ahhhh
wild thing
WhaT ...? There ’ s a Bear in the ‘ hood ?
Caught in the act of taking and shaking a bird feeder , this hungry bear is probably a youg male who has made his home in the adjacent forest land along the Senecsa Greenway Trail in Darnestown . by wib middleton
PHOTOS : SCOTT SUESS
It was mid-October , about 1:30 in the morning , when our 70-pound dog Bowie leapt up from a dead sleep , flew to the bedroom window , and barked with the ferocity we had never heard before . A few yards away under the light of the full moon , a large shadowy figure relaxed against the garden fence . It took us a few seconds to realize it could only be one thing — but Bowie already knew it was something quite fantastic , something he had never seen before — a big black bear !
Nonplussed by all the barking , the bear gradually rose up after a few minutes and ambled back to the edge of the forest and out of view . That was our first encounter , but he had already made himself known during daylight hours to our neighbors , Scott and Anne Suess . They had witnessed some fascinating bear behavior and captured a few shots and a short video of his antics . >
Ahhhh
Spring ... time to get out and enjoy some fun things you ’ ve been missing !
n Check out the variety of agritourism activities on our farms .* n Grab a cold beer or a nice glass of wine or cider at one of the Ag Reserve ’ s breweries , wineries or cideries . n Enjoy one of our delightful self-driving tours of the Reserve .
* Visit individual farm websites for hours of operation .
www . montgomerycountymd . gov / agservices