Living in a rural part of the Commonwealth of Virginia means I am bound to meet unexpected creatures. The last few weeks have featured a donkey and a Mama Bear and her twin cubs.
A LONESOME DONKEY
Country Living Tip: Even a donkey has to learn to love himself.
My neighbors have a cattle company. Sometimes we see big herds of cows roaming their pastures and sometimes not.
But there is a comical looking donkey who is almost always in evidence and is always totally alone in a big empty pasture. He paces up and down a long fence line hoping to join a herd of cows or a few cows, or even just one cow.
He seems desperately lonely.
When there happen to be cows in the pasture adjoining his, you can sense his happiness. If the cows lie down near his fence, he will lie down on his side too and he spends time “talking” to newcomers through the fence until they tire of him and go off to chew grass.
I want to stop and tell him it is o.k. to be alone and that he can learn to love himself and enjoy his own company.
I have even stopped to visit but he is elusive – too busy concentrating and wearing out a path along the fence line. Maybe he there to guard the herd. Or maybe he is too aggressive with the “girls” to share the same pasture but I wish he had some friends.
More on Guard Donkeys From Agri-Facts: Many donkeys dislike and are aggressive towards dogs, coyotes and foxes and provide indirect protection for domestic animals. Donkeys have exceptional hearing, keen noses and excellent vision. They use these senses to detect intruders and bray, bare their teeth, chase, and attempt to kick and bite dogs and coyotes. Some donkeys will also chase deer, bears, strange livestock, humans and other intruders in a similar fashion.
MAMA BEAR AND HER CUBS
“SOMEONE HAS BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED!”
Country Living Tip: Keep aromatic refuse under cover and inside your house!
The mother bear and her twin cubs who delighted us with their presence last week, have not visibly returned. But we noticed they broke down part of our pasture fence. I was surprised that bears can climb through a board fence just like humans do, but they evidently feel no pain as they encounter obstacles.
I hope Mama and her cubs don’t plan to check out the interior of our house though! If they do, Plan #1 is to barricade myself in the bathroom with the cell phone permanently set to dial 911. Can anyone help with ideas for Plan #2?
A True Local Bear Story and more advice: “If you think you have seen a bear, you have.”
Friends of ours had fish for dinner one night and made the mistake of leaving the remains outside in the garbage. A passing bear thought he smelled something nourishing. He tipped over the garbage can and hit the jackpot.
“Surely there is more fish where that came from!” he thought.
And our friends were stranded inside all night, with the bear banging on walls and trying to break in. Talk about sleep deprivation!
Daylight brought the animal control people out to their house to set up a bear sized “Have a Heart” trap with a whole canned ham for bait. But the bear had given up and left, so he missed all that yummy ham.
Maybe it was his wife and kids who passed by our place though. They reminded me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
From Wikipedia: The Story of the Three Bears is one of the most popular fairy tales in the English language that was first recorded in narrative form by British author and poet Robert Southey and first published in a volume of his writings in 1827.
Wallpaper image – lol 😀
Bears in the backyard – forget rural; you’re living in the wild, Dor!
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You may have a point there beeblu – about living in the wild! We see critters like turkey herds/flocks, deer, and fox. Haven’t seen bears in 26 years but here they come too. 🙂
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Oh I am envious of your bears! We have no bears, but the largest grizzly in North America was shot at The Holler in the late 18oo’s. I hope you get some pics of the cubbies!
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Oh Dor I do love your stories of living in the countryside. We see horses, cows and sheep where we live but they are enclosed in their fields and don’t venture out anywhere near us.
BTW I have nominated you for the Five Day Challenge – go over here – https://growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com/2015/06/12/five-day-challenge-day-2/ to see what you have to do. It’s a lot of fun. 🙂
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Well I did not know that about donkeys, that they would chase animals and humans they didn’t like. Just the same I think whoever owns him could find a friend for the poor donkey, two donkeys could guard even more livestock.
I also didn’t know that Southey was the first person to publish Goldilocks and the 3 Bears so thanks for a very educational post. Sorry I can’t help with bear invasion plan #2 the only kind of bears we have in Australia are koalas which as you know are not really bears anyway.
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I hope your hubby has a good sense of humour because I say Plan #2 is make sure Bill is in front of you and be ready to give a strong push :). Just kidding Bill LOL.
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We have “Virginia Black Bears” Cindy – much smaller than Grizzlys. But they look powerful and they run fast. Seeing them from the safety of home is always a treat but I wouldn’t want to meet them close enough for a good photo! 🙂
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Livestock in VA are also kept enclosed in their fields but our view is of a cattle ranch and then we drive by their fenced off fields too. The donkey resides in one large pasture all alone, adjoining another pasture with cows who come and go with the farmer’s market sales. Thank you so much Judith for nominating me for the Five Day Challenge. I just completed the Challenge as I had been nominated previously, so must decline your lovely offer. 🙂
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Yes – I vote for a friend for the lonely donkey, even though he may be distracted from guard duties. 🙂
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I’ve always loved donkeys, Dor. Now a bear banging on my wall..that would make me a little nervous. 🙂
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Blahahaha! You are so funny Cindy! But there is merit in what you say…I may push Bill in front of me if we see the bears. But not today. Today is our anniversary, so we would need to “go” together! 🙂
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I need a donkey! I wonder if they would answer telemarketer callers too.
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Bears in the yard scare the living daylights out of me. I will never EVER forget the one that came around the corner of my garage. I didn’t have a Plan #1! I was so startled I could barely move. Wait, after reading that interesting fact about aggressive donkeys….maybe you need a donkey to scare the bears away? Plan #2 ?? 😉
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Happy Anniversary to one of the cutest couples I know :), and what a coincidence because our anniversary was on June 10th. All the best couples were married in June!
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As always a wonderful post Dor. We only have goats, donkeys and a few sheep on this part of the island. ” HAPPY ANNIVERSARY “
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Bears banging on the door? OMG. I’m glad we don’t have bears where I live. 🙂
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Somehow I am reminded of “Green Acres!” Stay safe!
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We had a bear visit last night. The dog went nuts and when I looked there he was 15′ away. I do not want a bear feeling comfortable in my yard, so I holler up a storm “Git outta here!” He seemed surprised that he wasn’t welcome, but he moved off quickly enough! I’ve been known to clang pots and pans together as well. They hate that!
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Happy Anniversary!!!
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Donkeys have my reserved admiration but visions of a bear break in are now taking over my dreams. 🙂
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Haha! A donkey in the front yard might discourage trespassers though.
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Yes! Plan #2 according to Mama’s Empty Nest, has merit. A donkey to drive away bears sounds like a perfect solution. 🙂
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Thanks Cindy! Bill gave me a real mushy lovey-dovey card this year – an aberration for sure (since he is anti Hallmark holidays), and I will save it forever.
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Thanks Rita! Some day I will find a way to visit your part of the world. Goats, donkeys and sheep sound like a good selection of critters to have around. And thank you for the anniversary greeting too. Bill and I are still living “happily ever after.” 🙂
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What a sweetheart :). But wait, did he do something wrong that you don’t know about yet? LOL
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Another benefit!
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Hmmmmm! You may be onto something here. I will be watching carefully.
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I will definitely use the clanging pots idea next time the bears visit. Thanks Eliza. 🙂
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Thank you Eliza! It was. And now counting down to the next anniversary. 🙂
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Actually, I think you just found the answer to protecting your home and car from thievery.
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A donkey in the front seat and in the front yard?
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I think that would do the job.
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