It was 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon when Elsa-the-Dog begged to go out on the deck. She loves just looking around her “estate” from the safety of the rails and rungs.
So out we went to sit in the shade of the eaves and contemplate sudden fair weather. Surely the wispy breeze and floods of sunshine would make us safe from the dreaded virus.
As I was about to doze off, Elsa suddenly sprang to life and trotted to a corner of the deck. She likes to chase bumble bees and I thought that was her goal.
But then she zipped over to the opposite end and then zipped back. She was definitely on the alert and straining to look in one direction through the rails and I too looked in that direction to see what all the fuss was about.
What I saw was a very large VERY LARGE Virginia Black Bear who was ambling along the edge of our woods. He had obviously been at both ends below our deck and was certainly interested in my hummingbird feeder!
About the time I put this all together in my slowly emerging brain, Elsa was growling and barking, and the BIG BEAR began to run. Thankfully, it was running away and not toward us. Elsa kept up a loud piercing bark that I think made her seem to be a giant adversary instead of a little twerp of a dog.
And the VERY LARGE bear ran all the way out of sight and into the forest.
Thank you Elsa-the-Dog for your grand big-dog bark and for your courage in sounding the alarm. You are my heroine!
Anyway, who said sheltering in place is not exciting?
Might want to consider bringing that hummingbird feeder in at night!
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Good dog, Elsa! 🙂
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She is definitely a hero! Such courage.
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That Elsa is certainly a keeper and one to have around when bears are lurking nearby.
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Oh, my! You did have excitement! Good dog, Elsa!
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What a gorgeous view you have.. I guess that balances out the threat of bears.
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No! God, and nature, which are the same thing, obviously love you and Elsa. Elsa may be a tad timid for good reasons, but she reminds me of the famous lion who shares her name.
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The bear! Still so excited the bear trusted you both, let you see it.
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Elsa seems to know what bears don’t like. Good Elsa.
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Elsa is a great little watchdog and very brave – scaring away a big black bear makes her a hero – good going Elsa!
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OMG ! Dora I would be scared to death but obviously Elsa wasn’t. What a great guard dog she is. Take care and stay safe !!!
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Brave Elsa defending her territory and her humans.
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A very brave little dog, particularly if she is on the “home side” of the deckrailings! 🙂
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We are getting used to bear sightings here now but I still freeze and have no idea what I would do if I came face to face with a bear. I think Elsa would run for home and she can definitely outrun me.
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She puts on a good show anyway! 🙂
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She knows she bears the responsibility.
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You are right Cindy. The bears around here are very shy and the saying goes, “If you think you saw a bear, you did.”
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It has become Elsa’s solemn duty to protect me by sounding the alarm. Strange people, strange bears – no matter.
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Thankyou for noticing our lovely view Judy! We have never tired of it in 30 years and as long as the bears practice social distancing, we are o.k. with them too. 🙂
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Yes, it was just getting too quiet and peaceful around here. We needed something like a bear to wake us up.
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Elsa’s a great warning bell but would it work on the ground face to face with a big bear? All I can do is hope.
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Yes, I could tell she was proud of herself but then wanted to go home ASAP! 🙂
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Elsa lives for that approval so I know she would love you Eliza.
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How nice to hear from you Michael! Great advice and I was doing that – bringing the feeder in at night. But the bear was definitely circling the deck and seemed to be after the feeder in broad daylight! So now there is no feeder. The cupbord is bare.
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That’s when it registered that the bear was bigger than she was! Smart dog.
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I feel like that with my view as well. Such a gift to have your best view in your own back yard.
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Well done, Elsa! Way to show that bear who is boss.
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You go Elsa!
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🙂
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The views from your house are similar to ours, but we don’t have bears coming near the house. I can live without that excitement. You handle it well.
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Brave Elsa! That would have been enough excitement for me. I would have been happy with that magnificent view – great place to shelter in place. We have a woodpecker that likes to visit our hummingbird feeder – better than a black bear.
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I never knew that bears are fond of birdseed, but it seems that bears are fond of everything! What a treat to be able to see one. Bringing in the feeder’s a good idea. I bring mine in now because of The Possum — it’s not threatening, but it can vaccuum up seed like you wouldn’t believe.
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I so agree. Sheltering in place can be VERY exciting–especially in our rural areas! Glad you told the story. 🙂
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Good brave Elsa for chasing off that bear! She was protecting her estate and her loved ones. 🙂 ❤
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Dor – for some reason your reply to the comments on your posts are not showing up right after the original comment. They are all showing up at the bottom of the comment page. Are you seeing that too? Maybe something in your theme is broken?
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Thanks Margy. Does this help?
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Now I see what is missing – for some reason there isn’t a reply button attached to every comment so the only way to reply is to go to the bottom of the comments and use that reply button.
Maybe in your Settings – Discussion – Comments Settings there isn’t a check mark that allows threaded comments.
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Thanks for checking Margy. I will keep looking but I think you are above my head here.
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Brave Elsa!
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