#Middlebury #Bear
By BRIDGET HENRY
I was beginning to feel like I was the only Middlebury resident left who had yet to see THE bear (bears?). And, to be completely honest, I was getting a little frustrated by it. Middlebury had suddenly become the place to be in terms of bear sightings. And with each passing week, stories of the town bear seemed to multiply. Practically everyone I knew was coming across that bear. Everyone, that is, except for me.
Worse than that, I felt as if I was being taunted by sightings of the bear. My neighbors sent multiple texts, pictures and videos documenting their bear encounters. On more than one occasion, the bear was practically in my back yard. Unfortunately, every single time the bear was around I was either at work or out of town and totally unable to join in on the neighborhood action.
To add to the frustration, I was constantly reminded of the bear’s presence each and every time I scrolled through Facebook. Middlebury residents were consistently posting new pictures of the bear in their yards, in their pools, or eating from their bird feeders. My back yard, however, was nothing but a giant, bear-less disappointment.
To be clear, I have no interest in putting myself in harm’s way. And I certainly respect the inherent danger and unpredictability that come with wild animals. My interest in seeing the bear is the same interest I have in seeing the turtles in Fenn Pond, or the resident turkey on Regan Road, or the crane standing in Hop Brook or the eagle at the M.R.A. Nature is awesome, and I truly appreciate all that surrounds us, particularly here in Middlebury. And so, as the days passed and the bear continued to elude me, my frustration became unbearable. Literally.
Thankfully, as luck and timing would have it, I finally became part of the Middlebury bear club while fishing with my son a few weeks ago. I have told the story (to the dismay of my family and friends) about 1,000 times. And, much like any good fish story, the bear gets bigger and closer every single time I tell of my encounter. (I feel I owe it to the bear.)
I will spare you the details here but I am very happy to report to you that my Middlebury bear encounter was everything I could have hoped for and more. I saw that bear up close, I made some new friends along the way and no one was harmed in the making of my dream come true. All in all, it was just another “beary” good day in town.
And so, the summer of 2019 will fur-ever be known as the summer of my bear. It is likely I will retell my story for days and weeks to come and my friends and family will simply have to grin and “bear” it. As for me I am so grateful I can “bear-ly” stand it, and as always, I am happy to be Somewhere in the Middle(“bear”y) with you.
