Eagles and Snakes and Bears, Oh My!

Obviously, the picture does not go with the title. But I don't have a picture of the eagle, the snakes, or the bear, and I do just happen to have this photo of a moose, taken by the Farmer on a recent foray into the Highlands.

As for the other critters... It all started on Monday, when I went to pick up our latest WWOOFer from the bus station. Kai is from Germany, and he's never been to our neck of the woods before, so I thought I'd take the most scenic route home, over the mountain. It was about 8:30 at night - just dusk. As we approached the crest, I saw something in the middle of the road. A big something - deeply black against the fading pink of the sky. My brain went into one of those gear-grinding spirals that happen when you can't quite process what you're seeing. My first thought was, "How did one of the cows get up here?"

Lots of people around here have seen bears. My neighbours down the road see them quite regularly. My next door neighbour's grandson pedaled up to one inadvertently on his bike (then pedaled away quite quickly). Sometimes, depending on the bear, people will say "I thought it was a large dog." The bear I saw on the mountain did not, in any way, resemble a dog (unless we're talking Cerberus). He was magnificent - black, sleek fur, and apparently quite well fed. And definitely the size of a yearling Highland cow.

Kai was ecstatic. "I've only been here for three weeks, and already I see a bear!" He was equally ecstatic when a mature Bald Eagle flew over us as we drove along the lake shore. I was more excited about the bear, eagles being as common as pigeons around here. Still, an eagle in full glide is an admittedly impressive sight.

Kai's vocal tone conveyed much less ecstasy the following morning, after his first night's sleep in the shed loft (hastily but, I thought, cozily converted to guest accomodations). "Do you have any poisonous snakes around here?" he asked, over a bowl of cereal. We do not, in fact, have poisonous OR venomous snakes here in God's Country. (The Creator figured that, after dishing our the black flies, mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies, and sand flies, dangerous snakes would be far too cruel).

"No," I replied. It was a question I'd already answered for Ashley, our WWOOFer from England, who had asked it politely upon discovering a garter snake in his wheelbarrow of mulch.

"Ah, that's good," said Kai. "Then the one in my bed won't be a problem."

I have to commend our visitor on his fortitude. A snake - poisonous, venomous, or otherwise - is not the most agreeable bedfellow. But Kai took it in stride. I suppose he was just grateful it wasn't a bear.