• Saturday-What'sUP August 2 - 10:45 am

Doug Grusser recently had a dark haired visitor over for dinner in Big Bay. Actually, I think he may have been an uninvited guest, but I don't think Doug was in any hurry to tell him he needed to move along. This looks like a young bear by its size, but he sure looks determined and he gets right to work and takes that feeder filled with what looks like thistle and off he goes. According to Doug, though, the feeder was only $2 and since he was able to get some good photos, he figured it was a good deal for both him AND the bear. :->

good morning! while on a drive to the harbor yesterday with my cousin dean schwartz and his wife susie,we seen a bear sitting on side of the road watching the traffic go by. most likely waiting for someone to stop and throw him some food, or perhaps eyeing up the yards across the road looking for some free bird seed. glad i live here in the keweenaw.

We were coming from Porcupine Mts. and spotted a bear on the side of the road and of course pulled over. Took pictures and movies. He went across the road and we went across and parked, too. Bill had his window down and the bear was sooooo close you could hear it pulling out the grass and chomping on it. I was a little nervous because we did have some food in the truck and the window was all the way down. The bear just went on his way. My mom got a kick out of watching the movie. How she enjoyed watching the movies we took while on vacation up there. She was to sick to want to go with us. ;O(

My allergies are all of a sudden kicking my butt. Any prescription stuff I take makes me sleepy, so Bill went to Wal-Marts to get me some Claritin. (My sweetie)

Wow!!! I LOVE these pics....Hey Doug...tell us your heart didn't do a flip when ya saw that! I know the time I had a bear waddle into my yard, there was a sliding glass door between he and I!! And WHOA....that was wild! Instead of "heartbeat, beat, beat"...it was "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM."

He didn't take the feeders either. He layed on the ground, licked his paw, slapped the ground (picking up lots of seed...I threw sunflower seeds down for the groundfeeders), licked his paw again and slapped the ground again...and he ate till it was gone, then waddled off. Was quite cool to watch!

Speaking of bear...has anyone been out to Oswald's Bear Ranch outside of Newberry?
http://www.superiorsights.com/oswaldsbearranch/

Haven't been there in decades. Dean had 2 bear at the time, and 1 was a cub. He took it out of his truck one time when I saw him, and handed it to me. It was in a pamper diaper! What a little love tho...it snuggled right in like a human baby, wrapped it's little paws around my neck, and nuzzled right in...way too cool.

Super pictures, Doug. I'd love to give this creature (ahem) a bear hug! Thank you!

I can bearly stand this conversation..haha I am getting rabbits and squirrles in my yard after the bird feeder so I may lay off feeding them for awhile.

Nobody has mentioned the smell. I haven't seen a bear lately. Saw his work on my bird feeders earlier this spring, though. And for the past few days, I've smelled one that must have been across the road in the woods. The bilberries are ripe, and that usually brings them around. Bears smell. It's a nasty, sort of musky odor that even a human with allergies can smell when the wind is right.

Donna we go to Oswald's Bear Ranch every year. The place has grown SOOOO MUCH. Now you can get your picture taken with a bear cub. I get one every year and post it on my wall. Wonder how many of those "little" guys are now in the back cages and all grown up. It is a "gotta see" place if you in Newberry!!

The poor bear looks to be having bad hair days!

Nice pics, It looks like the bear has the mange. (loss of hair) or maybe it's losing it's winter coat. Kind of late for that.

Too Funny! I used to have a finch feeder just like that one.

I was forced (by building management) to remove the feeders I had
hanging on my balcony because they were attracting squirrels. I
think Doug is going to continue to have this big visitor now that
that he knows about this bounty! Better stock up on those $2
feeders!

Bobbysgirl and Gusll, I noticed the scarce hair too....looks like it has a Mohawk 'do'....down its back. :D We don't have bears around our area but a raccoon has been beating us to the tomatoes on a potted-plant my husband has on our backporch. Cute but aggravating.

Bears do smell..the cub I held had a scent to it! And it wasn't one I'd want to have on me often!

And yes...once he's fed there...he'll be back! The night I watched the guy in my yard, a pair of foxes came through...and scared the bear! He hid "behind" (yeah...right) a pine tree, and stood up on his hind legs to hug the tree...I thought "What on Earth is coming through here that'll scare a bear?" and it was a little pair of foxes...eventually, they brought their baby, and I threw out Family Dollar Store dog biscuits for them...they loved them!

Oh man, Donna... "dog biscuits"?! You are courting trouble or at
least many interesting creature visits. :)

I miss the squirrels that used to visit my balcony looking for bird
seed.

We saw a dead bear on the side of the road in Wisconsin on the way here. I'd hate to see what that vehicle looked like cuz this was no cub. I've never seen that before.

From americanblackbear.com....

Bears molt annually in the early summer. They shed both their underfur and outer guard hairs, leaving only a short, sleek summer undercoat. Each individual molts at a different rate and in different ways. Some bears will molt from the face backwards, while others do so in a more helter-skelter, all-over pattern. Their new coat is growing in as the old one is being shed, so that by fall they have their thick, luxurious coats once again.

I agree with the comments above about knowing a bear is near by the smell. I have had that happen when walking in the woods near my home. Bears really do stink.Right now we have a mom and two cubs hanging around.

Yes, that bear does look rather young, which means we may be looking at another episode of "Bearly Legal".

I could tell you lots of critter stories. VERY entertaining and beyond interesting!

(P.S. 2 little baby skunks will body wrestle over 1 piece of Genoa Salami! And are they darling...And darn near blind...can't see worth a darn...but boy can they smell...absolutely amazing to watch!)

This one is for Annie (Cabin5)

Baby Skunk!!!


Its an inside joke involving a baby skunk trying to cross the road on the north end of Baraga :)

That's one of my favorite "creature" memories from our travels up
north. Thanks for the laugh John! :)