Bearwatch!

Once a month I get together with a bunch of women for a Stampin' Up craft night. A rep comes and shows us new techniques for card making and we ohh and ahh over our stamp catalogs, order more stamps, eat snacks and chat. Most of these women are moms and/or teachers and are aged 35-50. Most are new friends to me that I've met through one of my best friends from college.

Tonight, after "stamp club", as we've come to call it, six of us were tooling through the neighborhood dropping members off for the night. We had been talking about the pesky bears and skunks and raccoons in the neighborhood when my good friend pointed and said "Look! There he is! The BEAR!" We all took a moment to spot him in the dark then, in perfect unison, screamed to the top of our lungs. I know, it probably wasn't the best reaction, considering our proximity to the bear, but it just sort of happened. I can't explain why I screamed since I'm not typically spooked so easily but this was a HUGE bear. The bear in our neighborhood is probably about 400 lbs. This one had to be at least 600 lbs. It was sitting in a driveway next to the sealed trash cans enjoying a snack. It looked up at us then casually walked off through someones front yard. Everyone begged my friend to back up the Suburban and follow the thing. She did and I quickly spotted the bear's silhouette on a corner cliff in the same yard. The bear trotted down the slope then meandered across the street, through the high beams of our car, and strolled through another yard. He was disturbingly comfortable in our presence. We kept watching him as he coolly continued his walk before we decided it was best to drop neighborhood friends off quickly while we still had a sense of where the bear was.

I was slightly alarmed when I was dropped off at my car because my friend said "Oh, Chris (her husband and fellow high school classmate) must have seen the bear around here. He's left the lights on for you." Chris and I have know each other a long time and most of our conversations revolve around giving each other a hard time about something or other. Somehow, this kind gesture of leaving lights on for me made the bear situation seem so much more dangerous than I'd originally thought. It freaked me out! It's sort of like your spazzy brother leaving lights on for you. It's unusually thoughtful so you can't help but look over your shoulder for the Zodiac Killer.

By the time I cruised into my own driveway I definitely had bear on the brain and was completed freaked out about the 5 or 6 yards I had to cross from my car to the back door. When I pull up after dark, I can't see what's lurking in the breezeway between our house and detached garage. I mean anything could be waiting for me in there. I'm usually worried about skunks but tonight I was certain a big damn bear was waiting to snuff me out. It's safe to say I was moving faster than most of you have ever or will ever see me move. I can't remember ever being so relieved to lock our back door behind me. This crazy nature stuff sucks sometimes.