Rural residents in our area might not be surprised to find a flock of wild geese or ducks swimming in their backyard ponds, but at about 3 p.m. Sunday, Robert and Shelley Schmidt of rural Harris found something else.
A juvenile black bear was apparently cooling off in the water and enjoying a snack at the same time, oblivious of the humans nearby.
The youngster was pulling the cattails out by the roots, munching on them a little and then dragged a large bunch to shore where it continued snacking.
In all, the young bear stayed about 30 minutes and gave the homeowners quite a show.
This bear may or may not have been there before because about two months ago a young black bear was on their front porch stealing suet at 4 a.m. The Schmidts stopped feeding the birds and thought the bear had moved on, but maybe not.
Photos by Shelley Schmidt