Monday Ramblings

[bertvorgon]

Morning World!

In June coming up, I will be heading back into the land of grizzly bears. As Saturday was a horrible rainy day, I thought that would be a good time to grab a couple of things from our local BIG box outdoor store. One of the things was to update my bear spray, as they do have a bit of a shelf life and would not want the damn thing NOT to work when you most needed it! I picked up one with a bit more of the active ingredient, so that was good.

With that in mind, I had been doing some research on-line when I ran across this stunning video, which Matt and I found just insane, as we have seen these things in the flesh. That it could go up this tree chasing the black bear, like a freight train, is just amazing to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hURgA_BNSGc

Depending on where we are I do rely on my 12 Gauge!!

Having been lucky to have a yard in White Rock, that is "original" in the sense I still have huge trees and shrubs, we are a bit of a sanctuary for wildlife. This spring, when most of the hummingbirds have gone North, I noticed one hanging around just outside my kitchen window, always flying into the holly tree. As I watched more closely, I saw a pattern, so went to observe. Turns out there is a nest there, with two baby humming birds in it, so cool. The eggs had hatched, producing two blind and no feathered young. Mom would fly out, get some food, then come back and regurgitate the food, then sit on them for ten minutes or so, then repeat the process dawn till dusk. The nest would fit in my hand, so small. This past week they are getting bigger and starting to poke their small beaks up over the edge of the nest. I sneak out when she is gone and snap some photos.

Having a vintage trailer prompted me to buy this really neat CO detector, which could be used in a car also. I got it off Amazon for 100.00 US. It has a very low detection rate, 8 PPM, whereas my home one triggers at 70 PPM. It is nice and small, so easy to use in any application where you might encounter CO. I used to use an aircraft one many years ago when my exhaust was sketchy and I did such long distance driving. Did not want to fall asleep from CO leaking in.

[510rob]

neat pics of the nest!

[slowerthantime]

Keith, this morning I watched the bear video you posted and showed my wife. We had a conversation about how fast they are then I went out to the shop. 5 minutes later I was pulling on my coveralls when I heard the chickens making a racket. I walked out of the shop and heard that distinct huffing sound....head was instantly on a swivel, then I looked up... That video certainly had me doing the math to the back door


Its a small one with a beautiful blonde coat. He has an ear tag, so has been relocated before.

[Byron510]

....skid marks....


I came across 4 brown bears on a drive to Bella Coola a number of years ago. They were crossing the road, but were not yet off the road. I stopped about 3-400 feet from them, and they just stood there looking back at me. I put the 300mm lense on the camera in the car, slowly opened the door, and took a pile of my photos with my then 35mm - focusing and zooming as I shot. I was between the door and the car, never stepped out of the doorway, and my heart was pumping - my hands were shaking. I seriously wondered that if they did make the sprint, would I even be able to get in the car, get it in reverse and get out of there before I had brown bear claws through the front window of that 510 wagon - as turning around on that gravel section of road wouldn't have been a quick option. I had a Rockford in my mind at the time - but you'd be really hoping this wasn't the time that you'd screw up that maneuver!
In the end, they finally moseyed on, and I didn't waste too much time driving by - I have to admit!

At the time I had a fresh personal scare. My grandfather had recently lost an acquaintance in Princeton to a cougar attack - took her right off a horse, launching out of a tree. The woman's young teen age daughter went for help, but that cougar had half eaten the woman before help got back.

This kind of thing doesn't happen often. And like Keith said - in the state of mind this sow had - you'd literally need a cannon to have stopped her if she felt you were a threat. Even a large bore gun wouldn't stop this kind of adrenaline unless you managed to miraculously put it between her eyes - and very few in this type of situation really have this kind of gut combined with extreme skill.

Wildlife is to be enjoyed at a safe distance, and be respected. We shouldn't scare people from going out there, because there are so many beautiful places we should go, but spend too much time behind these screens. However we have become a bit disconnected when we realize that we don't really know how serious some situations can get, and we shouldn't be surprised at seeing this - this proves our disconnection. I have to admit this myself. But it's like planes falling out of the sky, the odds are pretty damn small.

Byron

[bertvorgon]

The proven shot gun defense....

I load my shotgun with: first shot SSG, then a rifled slug, then SSG, then rifled slug, then THREE SSG.

You are right about being calm....hope I'm never surprised in the bush, but, I try to be ready when we have to transit through some thicker sections of trail.

In all my years, which is a few in the bush, I have only had one really CLOSE encounter with a black bear, and, the thing that scares me the most, a cougar. WE biked and hiked a lot on Vancouver Island North. Betty and I had a very close encounter with a cougar once on a remote beach, glad I had my pistol in my pack and time to get it out.

Jeff, I will bring my shotgun and guard the barbecue when we come by......

[RMS]

do you get a tag for just in case ?