Gentle Ben?

 

We're approaching our 2nd anniversary in our house in the Poconos.  Living in a rural area can be a double edged sword though.  We love the quiet, the darkness at night (not a lot of light pollution) and the nature that surrounds us.  

On the other hand, while the dark makes for good sleeping, it also means that walking at night can be dangerous (there are no street lights) and early morning walks can be iffy too.  (I've make sure I have a light with me when I walk before the sun is fully up.)  Nature is wonderful too...except for the stinky chameleon plant that continues to invade and the spotted spurge...But I am happy with the "take over" of the black eyed Susan’s and  am still hoping that my sunflowers (of which only one bloomed) will also spread over the next few years.  And I love all the trees...until they fall down, but...

Wildlife also has its ups and downs.  I've no problem with the deer here until they "broke into" my gated back yard.  (In NJ even fences won't keep them out.)  So we put in a new fence and they've stayed out of the backyard, wandering around the front of the house, which is fine with me.  I love finding frogs in the pond (along with the fish), even when they startle me (and I startle them).  I wonder where they come from...and then I'll find a squashed on one the road when I walk and it's not so much fun.  We have chipmunks that are in the front and the back yard, which I love...until one died in our backyard (have no idea why) and I haven't seen any since.  Groundhogs and raccoons are okay in my book too, as long as they are not digging under the fence or trying to live under my deck.

The quiet at night is sometimes pierced by animal noises.  Just last week something woke both of us up around midnight.  I suspect a fox, however I've mentioned how dark it is, so you never know.  The sound of katydids and cicadas has been more than expected this year as well, but I don't mind that either.  (I do mind insects swirling around me when I am outside and all the bits that I've gotten this summer.)

 Last night something unusual happened, at least for us.

 Let me backtrack a bit.  Sunday had been an exhausting day.  I didn't get much sleep the night before and all the driving had worn me out.  Plus, I'm old.  I was tired, so after dinner I was pretty much ready to call it a day.  I was in bed by 7:30 and I was dozing with the tv on.  And then my husband woke me up because he had gotten a front door notification from our camera.  (Although the notification was not instantaneous.)  This is what he saw:  

  To be fair, although the previous owners claimed they never saw any bears, we knew they were around.  I've heard about them getting into trash, but usually where they are spotted are several miles away.  We also suspected that back in the fall of 2024, before we had the new fence installed and while we were away, that one might have gotten into our backyard, but we had no concrete proof.  Now, however, we do!

 We don't know where this guy (or gal) went to.  Remember it IS dark out there and I was NOT going to go out there wandering in my pjs.

 I did go for my morning walk while it was still slightly dark out.  And yes, I was a bit more cautious than usual.  I saw no sign of Gentle Ben out there.  (If you are of a certain age, you'll get that reference.)  I did notice that my neighbor's trash can, which had been at the end of the driveway when we had put out our trash and recycling, had been moved back by the garage and that there were some bits of garbage on the lawn.  Our can as well as our open recycling bin was undisturbed.

 

Further inspection of our security camera footage show that Gentle Ben entered the property from the western side of the driveway (which would make sense, coming from the neighbor's across the road) and made his way up to our front steps.  (Though not all the way.)   He probably then made his way back out to the driveway and across the "island", which would not have been captured by the camera on the east side of the driveway.

 Gentle Ben and his relatives/ancestors have been here longer than we have, so I'll just have to be more aware when I am out and about.  I'm just glad that he decided to stay out front and not try to break into the backyard.  (The fence is great but if something really wants to get in, wood and wire isn't going to stop a determined black bear.)  I guess I'll have to count Ben as a good neighbor!