Brown Bear

We went arrowhead hunting yesterday and had a great time, Mike, Terryl and I. It had been a beautiful day but there was a little rain on and off but less that usual.

We came back to the house and a friend of there was visiting and I went for a walk to see if any more morels had popped up. We have been finding quite a few and Mike really made me look bad the night before. He was following me and picking up the ones I missed. He had quite a bunch in a short time.

I had found the first few a week before in a field next to their place. There is an open field and the river runs along the back of both pieces of property. Along the river it is heavely wooded and then broken with open spaces.

I wandered over to the field and looked where I had found some a few days earlier. I found only one. As Morel hunters will tell you, you have to watch the ground or the little devils will see you coming and duck underground :D

I wandered slowly along the right side of a wooded lot and then went to the left where there was an opening. I was walking toward the river now. There was another field between me and the river with some huge wood piles in it.

I was looking to the left and right, sometimes casting my eyes a little ahead to pick my way through the grass. There is a lot of old barbed wire in the field and it is not fun to walk into it.

I caught sight of something brown ahead but it just did not register at first. I just glanced at it and it was the color of the beef that are running all over the mountains, at least in the summer.

I guess the color registered but my consentration was on the Morels. They I stopped and thought. What the hell is a cow doing out here? I still had not looked up again. Now I did.

That sucker was a dang bear just a grazing along. It looked up my way but I just stood there a looking for a minute. It went back to grazing, I always heard they had poor eyesight and I started a backing up. I backed up a ways and he did not seem to notice so I turned around and slowly walked to the front field, constantly turning my head to see if he was a following. He was not. He just stayed there and kept a grazing on that new grass.


Once I had the small woodlot between me and the dang bear I started cussing myself for not having my camera. I always carry that dang thing and when I get a chance like this I forget it!

Well I just figured I would go back and get it and let the rest know about it.

I walked in and Mike and the rest were setting at the table. Mike asked me of I had gotten any morels and I said one. He poopooed me and I said I also saw a Grizzly. Of course he started a calling me a liar and such so I just went in and got my camera. They followed me in the bedroom and again told me I was full of crap but I just said OK, stay here. I am a gonna see if I can get a picture.

They started believing me about then I figure because Mike got his camera. We went out and through two gates and headed toward the field, which was only a hundred yards off or so. Then they saw it too.

We took some pictures and moved closer. Took some more and got a wood pile between the bear and us. We stepped out and took more shots. I got one with Mike in the picture. It looked like a cow grazing on the young sprouts.

After about ten minutes or so the thing saw us and headed for the woods fast!

I was very thrilled but noticed something. Mike and Nathan started saying it was just an old brown bear and it was not very big. That seemed odd to me because seeing something like that in the wild was such a thrill for an old Michigan boy.

They laughed that I would call it a Grizz but what the heck, I did not sex the thing and had no idea what it weighed. I didn't even check it for nuticals :shrug:, it was just an amazing thing that mother nature and luck provided for this old Michigan boy to enjoy.

I hope I never quit seeing the Majisty of those mountains and the excitement of its creatures. I hope seeing a majestic brown bear will always be a thrill for me as it was that day. I don't care what size it is and don't care if it not what people in that country call a grizz. I did a web search and most agree that the Brown, Grizzly and the Kodiac are all the same bear but with slight differences because of inbreading and diet.

To me that will always be a special day and that will be my GRIZZLY :D