May 10th, 2010    Backyard Bears

The other night, the horses started to raise a fuss. Now, they often get a little spooked from a falling tree or some other unidentified noise in the woods, but when I went out into the dark to investigate, I couldn’t find anything that might account for their anxiety.

It wasn’t until the next day, when Rebecca and I went out to gather wood nettles for lunch, that we saw something suspicious in the woods. Deep, full tracks in the rain-softened soil. We found them on a hillside, and had to follow them for a while before we found a print that was definitive enough to read.

We have a bear again.

This always adds a certain excitement when one goes out into the woods. There’s something about sharing the forest with an animal that has been known (though  not often), to eat people.

We continued on our own predatory excursion, preying on a few wood nettles and wild leeks that were destined for a pasta/bean/morel dish.

We’ve been quite inspired by Samuel Thayer’s latest book, Nature’s Garden. His wild edible guides are unparalleled, and each book has opened up new doors to exciting wild vittles.

We’re watching the horses carefully, now, and keeping an eye on the forests and fields. These tracks suggest another adult bear, like the first one we ever saw here at Sweetwater, and we are hoping we get to actually see our new neighbor. Wish us luck!