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The bears are at it again! There hadn’t been any signs of bear activity for a while, so my wife thought it was safe to put up a feeder for the birds. It’s gone with other signs that we had a bear visit last night. In their attempts to get food, bears are terribly destructive. They are not the smartest critters in the woods either. However, I have another reaction to them that betrays my history. I look at good size bear and my mouth begins to water. Bear meat is best in the fall. It’s very fat and you will want to trim away most of that fat. The settlers use that fat for things ranging from slicking down their hair to axle grease. It’s a dark red meat and its flavor depends on what the bears have been eating. I never heard of anyone taking a dump bear for food. I would imagine it’s meat would taste a great deal as the dump smells. Of course, that betrays more of my history. We don’t have town dumps just outside of town in the woods anymore. In those days when you took the stuff to the dump, you are often greeted by two or three bears. They would come running and there might even be some squabbles between them, but they were there to see what you are throwing out. It was wise to have something in your pile of garbage that would attract them and give it a heave. They would attack it and each other, so you could get rid of the rest of your garbage in peace. If you are there to throw out something that would not interest them such as an old piece of furniture, they could even get a little bit grumpy with you. They seem to expect you would feed them the best garbage you had. Next time you have to go to the dump, remember to put a grocery sack of moldy leftovers and rotten fruit on top of what you’re throwing out and give it a heave so you can unload the rest in peace. Just remember although bears can be a nuisance, they are great eating!