Yellow Jackets

The other day I stuck my hand into a nest of yellow jackets. Not a smart thing to do, but I didn't know it was there. It was a cold day. I had decided to move an old Christmas tree that was in a box on the back porch. The artificial tree had been sitting there for a month or two, ever since I'd had a wild hare and cleaned up our storage room. Anything sitting outside in North Georgia is likely to house a critter or two. I knew that ~ so I was prepared for beetles or squirrels, or maybe even a little green snake or two. I pulled out the tree top and shook it. It was fine. Then I pulled out a couple of branches. That's when I saw the papery mess in the corner of the box. "Eee-ew-www, termites!" I thought. I reached deep down into the box for the next branch. Underneath there, it looked even worse than I'd thought. And something was moving around. I slapped the branch on the box to get rid of the bits of clinging paper. Now I noticed a bit of movement on the porch, something wiggling. "Kind of big for termites..." I bent to get a closer look. Yellow jackets! Simultaneously, I noticed one yellow jacket curled around the tip of my ring finger! Wow! I dropped that branch and hit the steps flying. The yellow jackets lay sluggish, but wriggling on the porch. They had been stunned by the cold, but startled by the intrusion into their cozy haven. Somehow, I had escaped with only one sting, and I didn't even feel that until later. I ran around the house and bounced into the front door. "Yellow jackets," I said, and told about my close call. We sneaked up the back stairs and looked out the window. Fully awake now, the wasps swarmed angrily around the back porch, seeking the predator that destroyed their nest ~ me! But I was safely inside. Only two days before, we had been on the tail end of a summer like warm spell. Had I moved the box that day... well, I shudder to think of it!

The Bear Came Back

The bear came back! This time, I heard a noise and looked to see him standing, looking through the window of the door. I started to beat a hasty retreat in case the latch gave way, but he got down and started to walk away. I ran and dead-bolted the door, then grabbed my camera. I got in a quick shot from the kitchen (blurred by the curtain and reflected glass), but you can see the pads on the bottom of his feet. Then I ran to a bedroom and captured a snapshot of him looking into my car. My view was blocked by lots of vines, but you can just see his shape, standing tall, head stretched toward the Tracker ~ a big, black bear shape, not unlike a giant teddy bear. Finally, he walked off to the woods, where he stopped to maul a small tree, hoping for fruit. There is none (we had a late freeze, and there has been drought). I snapped one more shot, though it's so far away, he's pretty blurry. My heart was racing. It was scary to know that if the door hadn't been latched, or if he'd brushed the knob just right, he would have been inside the house...

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North Georgia is full of surprises!

More Wild Critters...

We had a treat yesterday: we took a short trip into town to grab some videos, and came back to find a couple of deer standing in the yard near the edge of the woods. One was a young buck. We stopped the car and watched them. They froze and watched us for quite awhile. Then another deer ran out of the woods. Then it stopped and looked back to see what the others were watching. It wasn't too alarmed, though ~ just wagged its tail and bounced over to the others. The other two continued to stand frozen, though, and when we finally moved, they all dashed back into the woods.

This was a double treat, because we had followed a rabbit up the driveway, after having spooked him from the woods. It had been just about to cross the driveway. We saw his little friend, too. It was still sitting in the brush, wanting to follow the other one, but afraid to dash in front of the car. It just sat there, looking jittery and comical, as if to say, "Which way do I go, which way do I go?"

It's not uncommon to see rabbits, squirrels, hawks, and other critters. There was a time when we saw wild animals nearly every day out near the driveway, and some up near the back woods. They became a little scarce when a hawk took up residence in the woods. He was roosting near the driveway, and apparently found the little rabbits to be easy pickings.

Deer are a little more rare, but lately they seem to have become quite easy about walking up into the yard at twilight. These three were a little early ~ it was still broad daylight. We enjoyed looking at them.

I'm afraid the black bears may begin to feel at home here, too. We're still a little nervous after the one last Sunday. This year may be a bad one for hungry animals, including bears. The drought has dried up the creek. The April freeze killed any hope of figs, and probably of hickory nuts, too. I'm told that there will be no acorns. Blackberry bushes abound, but I'm told they need lots of rain. If drought conditions persist, there will be no blackberries. I'm not sure about crabapples. The deer always love those.

That's the news from Muskrat Creek. What a lot of wild critters we've seen!

Thoughts on the Black Bear that Came to Visit...

I wasn't scared of the bear Sunday. Then, the visit was just a bizarre and exciting occurrence, a startling appearance at the window of a big, old giant teddy bear. I was secure within my home, and even those big bear claws on the window panes seemed only a novelty. I felt privileged at having witnessed it, at being honored by his visit.

Today, I have to report that a newfound fear of the black bear has crept into my consciousness. Once again, as happened at the time we found the giant claw-print, I have begun to feel... not so safe. I dread his possible return. A waving hill of tall, creamy, plush grass on the roadside reminds me of the bear's fur ~ not in color, but in its thick furriness. Will I meet the bear as I dash out to my car in the morning, forgetting to look? Will he poke his head around the corner as I take too long to unlock the door, carrying in plates of take-out?

It is disconcerting to learn that, while black bears are usually not considered to be aggressive, they are predatory. A grizzly attacks defensively, because he feels threatened. A black bear attacks because he is hungry. It will not do to lie down and play dead when a black bear attacks. You don't want to look too much like the main course!

FOR THE ORIGINAL BLACK BEAR VISITOR, SEE POST BEFORE LAST.

Visitor from Muskrat Creek...

Sunday... and a bit of excitement
when a black bear paid a surprise visit...

Sunday afternoon, blue skies and lazy afternoons ~ the whole family was here. A little earlier, we had been outside, but now we were sitting around the kitchen table eating ice cream bars. My sister starting gesturing wildly and sputtering something incoherent. Since she's not prone to fits, I looked around to see what the problem was. I found myself face to face with a black bear (separated only by a pane of glass). He got up on his hind legs and put his big paws on the window. I stood there with my mouth agape, as did the bear. He was barely a foot away from me and moving his head from side to side, trying to see through the glass. He was small, as black bears go ~ but on his hind legs, he stood nearly as tall as I. Black bears are comical, gangly fellow with big, clumsy claws and scruffy fur. They look deceptively harmless, like overgrown teddy bears.

The bear must have come up the bluff side ~ a small ravine about 30 feet deep that drops steeply down to Muskrat Creek. There's barely a foot or two of land between the house and the bluff, and in between it stood the bear. I have seen black bears once before, at Cades Cove; but I am not accustomed to looking straight down their tonsils! Still, I was unafraid, secure and protected within the house.

After giving up on the window, the bear wandered along the narrow path to the back yard, where he sniffed around the grill, stuck his head into a bucket and lapped up some rainwater. Rain is a rare commodity in Georgia these days. But we had a brief downpour a few days ago and Mother had caught some of it in a bucket.

We scrambled, madly looking for a camera, and the bear moseyed off toward the back woods. My niece snapped a picture just as her batteries went dead ~ I'm waiting to hear if she got the shot.