>It seems that I am just destined to live near bears. I have had 3 encounters with bears so far in my life (too manY). The two sightings are roughly 15 miles apart and then it is mostly metro in between so it's hard to believe it is the same bear. Luckily this one I haven't encountered personally (yet) but the 2nd bear sighting was 2 blocks from my home:
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>http://www.wxii12.com/news/9837638/detail.html
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>I guess that is what I get for having woods all around my house!


I saw a news story the other day about an old lady out west somewhere who came home to find a mother bear and her cub in her kitchen, helping themselves to some food that had been left out. According to the story she took a swing at the mama bear and scared her out a side door, then shooed the baby bear out the same door. Do mama bears have a reputation they don't deserve? Based on what I thought I knew about them, it was hard to picture one running out the door and leaving her cub behind.

Having woods all around you, now that's nice. Despite the bears. I am currently surrounded by subdivisions and corn fields that haven't yet been converted to subdivisions. Plus I start a new job on Monday that is within exhaust fume distance of O'Hare, not exactly rustic there either.