Acrylic on canvas, 24″x30″

I dated a man who was a great gardener. We had a garden one summer that I found to be quite the challenge. If I had only known then what I know now! Towards the end of a very dry summer, the bears started coming down from the mountains looking for food. One day I looked out the window, and saw this huge brown bear ripping into the plum tree. He was breaking branches, and stuffing plums down like candy. I actually walked out the door, and told him to stop breaking up the tree. He disappeared down the hill, but soon after I saw him hiding behind a bush by the garden wall. So I went and picked up all the plums he had knocked off the tree, and walked over towards him and sat down with all these plums. I put them on the ground, and just sat and stared with this bear for some time. He kept turning his head and looking away, then we would have another stare down. It was great. I was only about 20 yards from him, but I was not scared at all. A black bear, yes. His vibe was sweet. So finally I told him I would pick the plums for him, and leave them here in the yard…that he could not destroy the plum tree. Then I left. A few hours later all the plums had been eaten. I continued to leave a small pile for him, and he would eat them. He never went to the tree again for plums.

Unframed.