Memorial Day Weekend was beautiful for being outdoors and we decided to have a campfire and invited the neighbors over for an impromptu cookout.

Mike and Michelle Flynn and their daughters, Lindsey and Amber, are always active in the camping scene and a campfire is second nature to Mike. On the other hand our work schedule has not allowed us to kick back and it was a joy to get reacquainted with mountain pies and hotdogs over the fire.

We often get a few laughs with the zany antics of the Flynn Family and were talking about the shadow bear that Michelle called me about a few weeks ago.

It was just after daybreak and my phone rang, I wondered who would call this early in the day so I answered thinking it must be urgent.

It was Michelle in a hushed voice telling me that a bear was sleeping by the rock at the end of her drive. I thought that was a strange place for a bear, then I thought it may have been hit by a car or hurt in some other way. The thought of a bear in the area was not alien to me as we have had several bear raids over the years. I told her that I would cautiously check it out.

After a short scouting mission I determined that she was fooled by a shadowy area that looked like a bear sleeping, a false alarm and lots of bear joke material!

The phone rang again the next day and sure enough it was Michelle on the line telling me that the bear was back and heading for my house. Naturally I was laughing immediately thinking here we go again, the return of the shadow bear. It was dusk and the weather was turning misty with rain so perfect for another set up situation.

I called out to my wife, “bear alert one is heading our way!” Renee was immediately at the door and heading for her hummingbird feeder in the flower beds by the walkway. I was a step behind her and saying whoa there girl let’s just see if a bear is on its way. The words were no sooner out of my mouth than a huge bear appeared out of the woods.

This was no shadow bear he was a good 400 pounds or more and massive in every way. He had a huge head with the crease right down the middle of his forehead. His shoulders and belly were thick and he was no shy flower. He went right into the middle of the yard and ambled heavily to a utility pole and stood up and bear hugged it. We watched in amazement as he used it to rub his head and ears and shred the wood with his claws and he confirmed he was a big boar bear as he marked his territory.

In the mean time, dusk is a heavy hummingbird activity time and our resident birds hit the feeder frequently at this time. They will buzz any intruders to their domain in a protective manner and I thought they don’t stand a chance against this bruin. I stepped out on the stoop and yelled out, “Get out of here buster!”

The black bear just stood there looking at us in slight amusement at best. He didn’t head for us and the hummingbird feeder but took a stroll around the corner of the house. It was my chance as Renee kept an eye on him as I snagged up the hand blown glass bulb feeder. I was extra proud of my handywork as I repaired several feeders that suffered damage from raccoons and squirrels over the past months.

In the ensuing minutes we scrambled for a camera or phone to get some pictures. As luck would have it the camera was on a low charge and was of no use, Renee in the meantime had grabbed her phone and was snapping away at the big fellow as he crushed my newly repaired feeders.

Maybe he would only spill the sunflower seeds out and lap them up I hoped. The distinct snap of crushed plastic ended that fantasy for me as I watched the opportunistic bear destroy all of my handiwork. In the meantime Renee was inching forward to get a better picture and he gave her a warning woof. I yanked her back in the house as we watched the bear slink off only as a shadow bear can!

The PGC reminds all citizens that bears are moving about and should not be approached. All food sources need to be secured because they are omnivorous and will literally eat anything. Feeding bears to attract them is also against the law and a bad idea too!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.