Sunday, February 13, 2011

Sharing with Brother Bear . . .

Sharing with Brother Bear . . .

For many years, I met dawn,
.. deep in old-growth timber stands,
.... part of a dawn-chorus survey effort
...... recording bird species and numbers,
........ when they are most consistently vocal.

There is a particular old-growth stand,
.. in the far northwest corner of Wallowa country,
.... mature white fir on deep soil and a steep slope,
...... where each step down slides long,
........ and it takes six steps to crawl back up.

Several years in a row I could count
.. on meeting a big old boar black bear here.
.... Occasionally he would be mumbling up the trail
...... as I stumbled down, until I spoke to announce
....... my presence where he least expected it.

Whenever this happened, Brother Bear
.. usually became airborne as he sailed off the hill
.... and I listened intently as he caromed off trees
...... and logs laying waste to herbs and shrubs
........ as he got out of the way.

I still remember with amazement Bear's progress,
.. and the trepidation I felt as I set forth to follow,
.... hopefully with some fewer ricochets,
...... dawdling noisily to allow bear time
....... to get out of my way.

Invariably, sir Bear would be fetched up
.. down below, under a log pile... right where
.... I had to crawl over, under and around,
...... to get to my pre-assigned listening points.
........ Surely, knee-knocking experience for us both.

Sadly, as I read the project's final report,
.. there is nothing of the excitement I met
.... on those often cold and damp mornings,
...... meeting and crawling and praying a bit,
........ in a steep slimy thicket, with Brother Bear.

--r.anderson 13Feb2011