This morning quite early, a bear passed through our yard. It was relatively young, a black bear maybe a couple of years old — but probably closer to nearing its first hibernation, really. Their Latin name is Ursus americanus, and they’re the smallest bear on the North American continent. The black bear is omnivorous, and at the time that I saw it —it appeared to be eating green crabapples off of the old apple tree in my yard.
Sometimes, Nature shows up in your life in unexpected ways. It says to you, “You must now give me your full attention.” As a druid, I know that in the course of daily life, it’s easy to slip into an awareness of only the human world — the schedule of post office visits, the trip to the library or the grocery store, the phone call to the parents or the children, the planning for an upcoming business trip.
Nature bats last. Had I been outside early this morning in the garden, I might have missed this fellow prowling in my garden… or he might have startled me, or I him. Things might have gone quite differently.
We must become alert and awake and aware. The more than human world is constantly knocking at our door, whether or not our ears hear the steady pounding, or the cry of nature’s call.
