So we had our first bear visit... [View all]

... of the season last night. Honey, our Great Pyrenees/Redbone mix, started growling and barking at 2:30 this morning because there was something was out there that she didn't like.
Mrs. GiqueCee took our big orange baby out for her morning sniffathon, and saw clear bear tracks in the new snow going across the patio straight for the bird feeders, which we just started bringing in for the night in anticipation of renewed ursine visitations.
It was definitely our old friend, because he knew exactly where to go for a bird seed snack. In the past, he's effortlessly snapped a 1-inch steel post embedded in concrete to satisfy his craving for sunflower seeds. People don't realize how strong those guys are! He once devoured and entire 5-gallon pail of sunflower seeds that I'd forgotten were squirreled away in the back of our pellet shelter. Those Home Depot pails have lids that are a bear to remove (pun intended!) but posed no challenge to The Big Guy. He then sat on the wall of the patio enjoying the sunrise. Got a picture of him somewhere. I'll post it as soon as I find it and master the posting process. I've had generous advice on that, but I now have more time to dig into it. I'm a year and change shy of 80, so that knowledge doesn't come naturally to someone who remembers computer cards that said, "DO NOT FOLD, SPINDLE, OR MUTILATE".