It may not yet be the tourist season, but the bear season appears to be upon us.

During my walk early this morning, I came across the dumpster next to the Headstart building tipped over and its contents strewn about. I am glad the culprit finished his rummaging before 6:00AM, so that I didn't have the occasion to interrupt his/her early breakfast. When I returned home, I removed the suet feeder, which had hung off the deck the past 4 or 5 months. In past years it has provided a late night snack for a bear. In recent years, our garbage cans have been kept in a small storage shed without incident. When they were kept outside, I found myself with the unwelcome task of picking up garbage before leaving for work--a task worth avoiding. Our next door neighbor has a dumpster, which continues to be raided on occasion in season. The most inconvenient part of these incidents is when the raiders decide to bring the goodies into our yard. They apparently prefer to picnic under the pine trees rather than enjoy their pickings sitting next to a smelly dumpster.

Is there a message in this post? There most certainly is. Don't smell like garbage and don't linger a long time in any one place. That probably is good advice for all of us any time of the year and in any number of circumstances.