Reflections on the Third Week of Fall

Friday afternoon Kathy called to say Peggie had a bear in her tree–did I want to take some photos? I did, but could I take them from the car window? Spence fetched the car, I wrote the chimney sweep a check for repairs, and the sweep, with his assistant, followed us to Peggie's house. She sat in a folding chair by her garage and pointed to a towering maple in her driveway loop. “He's right up there.” He was big, black, and at least 250 pounds. The sweep and his assistant walked under the tree to take pictures with their cell phones. I paused to ask if the bear might come down. Peggie shook her head. “He's been up there since eleven last night. Lots of people have come to look at him today. He's not moving.” Reassured, I walked under the tree, but not under the bear. Sunshine and dark fur made lighting for photos tricky, and the bear turned his head away from me. I walked from side to side to catch his face. When the bear did look at me, I clicked quickly. He drooled. The assistant said, “Don't jump down on me, you bear.” The sweep said, “He's going to jump on you.” With forty-seven pictures in my camera, I figured I had enough. I thanked Peggie and hopped in the car. Peggie emailed later that the bear left Saturday morning after a seventeen hour visit.