I went to a friend's cottage this weekend, and got a little nature therapy and a lesson in being bear safe.

I crossed paths with a baby black bear on my walk in the woods today. It took me a few seconds to process what I was seeing, and then I thought "Oh no! Where is, mama." I didn't see her, and the cub was 100 or so yards in front of me, heading perpendicular to my trail. I had been talking to my video camera for a while, so didn't think I'd scare mom. I yelled and spooked the cub. It took off at a run in the other direction, but I was still worried about mama. I backtracked on my trail, a couple hundred meters, to the nearest ,fire road and headed home, blowing my whistle as I went. Never did lay eyes on mama. We notified the neighbours to be cautious.

Phew! Not sure I did the right thing, but I did get outta there safely. So glad I had a whistle and a walking stick. I went minimal on the walk, taking only a whistle, folding knife, bandana and my camera. A ten minute walk from a cottage doesn't usually feel potentially life-threatening.