
Since early spring, I have deposited compostable materials in my compost pile every few days, and there is always evidence that the bear has been there. For obvious reasons, I never go there at night but the bear is sometimes there during the day as well. He may well have been there at the times that I have been there. If so, I wouldn't know because he would have heard me coming before I could have seen him, and he'd have hidden himself. It's not nice to sneak up on a black bear, so I make a habit of making noise while walking through the forests of Petra, as if my tripping over things every now and then wouldn't herald my arrival as it is.