In his prime, our
now-departed – and deeply missed - cat Satchel was a hefty guy. Even as a
kitten he stood taller than most cats, and he definitely outweighed the little
Scottie dog that he’d chase back up the street from time to time.
Our neighbor
across the street reported that on more than one occasion, their visitors would
swear they just saw a bear in the yard. But it was just old Satch, on one of his
hunting missions.
If life were a
novel, those sightings would have been foreshadowing of the latest events here
in suburbia. We may have an acre of woods in our back yard, and several more at
the end of our street, but we’re only about a city block from the center of
town. And yes, we have deer and wild turkeys, but so do the golf courses, for Pete's sake.
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| Yes, that's Jim's backyard putting green. |
The wildlife
stakes around here appear to have been bumped up a notch, since this was spotted in
the backyard of our neighbor Jim, who lives two houses away.
Every August our
peach tree produces plenty of ping-pong balls of fuzzy fruit, and every year
visions of peach pies and cobblers and I don’t know what-all dance in my head.
And every August we go to Cape Cod for a week and come
back to a stripped tree and enough peach pits on the lawn to make a trip up the
hill to the mailbox an obstacle course. We were amazed at the industry of the
squirrels and the deer.
I think I know who
to blame.
I do believe, Sherlock, you have deduced correctly.
ReplyDeleteOoooh.
ReplyDeleteSatchel come back as a bear?
The larger of our cats often chases the yappy little rat dog up the street. Jazz considers himself to be a sabre-toothed tiger. At least.
When this guy comes to visit it really does add a new dimension. Our bears are very wild and they do harm so we keep them away.
ReplyDeleteOh, WOW. Now that's a big guy. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh my word. We get magpies. And we also have a heavy black cat. But that's something else!
ReplyDeleteI can see how a big fluffy cat could be mistaken for a bear.
ReplyDeleteToo sad about losing all your peaches every year, could you fence off the tree somehow?
Wow! That definitely outdoes any of our London wildlife. (Well, of the four-legged variety, anyway.) Florida and New Jersey -- and probably other states, too -- have organized hunts to cull bear populations because they're conflicting more and more with residents. But I say let them be. They were here first.
ReplyDeleteWell Satchel could have passed for a cub. I had deer eat my peaches and know how you feel when your pie pans remain empty. A deer--Ok. A bear--- scary.
ReplyDelete