Bear Facts

I had forgotten. For a period of time; in Colorado, there was a bear in our canyon. Some couple (I forget their name) had bought the last 40 acre piece in Spring Creek before it became public land. There was an artesian well on the property. They, as did I, burned their garbage, they had old apple trees beyond where they had built. They installed the garbage burning station at our south boundary; wilderness area forever beyond them. In the fall, a bear started visiting, I stayed home and served as goatherd, with a .306 leaning in the corner. The south wall was a green- house, across the front were 55 gallon drums, filled with water that stored a lot of BTU's. You'd have to add thirty to the five, and then I'd have to say I'd had more wild bear sightings than most people. Unlike most other carnivorans, bears are plantigrade, they distribute their weight toward the hind feet, but they're still quite fast, 30 mpg. Their claws are not retractable. Overwhelmingly solitary. Liaisons are brief. A male will occasionally eat a sow's cub to bring her back into estrus. They are behaviorally unpredictable (thus wild). I've eaten bear several times and it's quite strong but to my taste, like antelope; the fat is very rich. I never hunted them, but I was once given enough bear fat to fry potatoes for a month. They were delicious, dipped in a garlic mayonnaise. The Irish family name, McMahon means Son of Bear. B's nephew is nick-named 'Bear' because he is as strong as one. They feature in heraldry. The name Beowulf seems to mean "bee-wolf", a kenning for 'bear". I drown myself in facts, even before Gore gave us the Internet,now I just get a cup of coffee and type in some key words. Becomes an ongoing narrative, answers become starting points for the next series of questions. I'd better go, there's a squall line moving though.