My Life with Bears

I shot this picture in July 2017. My wife was out of town on book tour. I had just gotten up and was sipping my coffee on the patio. The time was about 7:15 AM.

I have lived in Western North Carolina for more than 21 years. At first, I never saw any black bears. Then they were everywhere I looked, including my back yard. If you’re local, you have accepted that this land we call home is not really ours. It belongs instead to every bit of Nature that traipses through it. Wild turkeys, deer, opossums, foxes…but mostly bears. I’m talking about them this week in a sizable article at SleuthSayers, the group mystery blog that I write for. I’ve wanted to write something about them for a while now. The fact that the weather is starting to cool, and the bears are packing on weight for their presumed hibernation is a good reason to share. Another is that I, my wife, and our neighbors have collected some amazing photos of bears over the years. I thought it was about time to share them.

First things first: my article is called…

The Strangers Who Came to Dinner

And here is a taste of what I’m saying:

One night in late summer, my wife alerted me to a bear tearing down our bird feeder. (We have since banished feeders from the yard.) It was dark, and I had trouble seeing the culprit. When I finally made out his shape, I gasped.

Thinking I’d explain my behavior, I told my wife, “First, I thought it was a chubby man in a black raincoat. Then…I realized it was a bear—and I got scared!”

Thirty minutes later, after the bear left and we removed the attractant, she pounced on my words. “Oh, but a chubby man in a black raincoat…in our backyard, at night, was not at all scary to you?”

In May 2021, when she was out, a mother and cub surprised me in the yard. I scampered into the house and bolted the sliding doors of the den. They were not in a hurry to go. In fact, they settled in for a sweet siesta in the shadiest part of the yard. From the safety of an upstairs bathroom window, I filmed the interaction. The footage runs 90 seconds. (I put it on YouTube.) It’s the most tender mother-and-child scene I’ve witnessed outside of a nature documentary. Nat Geo, call me.

The video I’m talking about is right here. I hope I’m not wrong that it’s a very sweet thing to watch.

A mother black bear and her cub wrestle and snuggle in an Asheville, NC backyard. Filmed May 2021, this tender moment captures Western North Carolina wildlife in its natural setting.

CHECK OUT THE BOOKS…

I reference three books about black bears in today’s essay. I hope you’ll check them out. They’re really fascinating. Our friend Amy Cherrix wrote a children’s book called Backyard Bears that explains in simple language why bears are so prevalent in our WNC (aka Western North Carolina) yards. It’s a really fine way to talk about habitat loss and human encroachment into natural settings.

Click photo to check out the book. (Amazon affiliate link.)

Another book—which is hilarious—tells the story of how black bears invaded a New Hampshire town that had been taken over by Libertarians who decided they hated taxes. When the municipal government stopped picking up trash, the bears moved in and wrecked their seeming Utopia. Worth checking out if you like long-form nonfiction.

Click photo to check out the book. (Amazon affiliate link.)

A lot of the readers who pass through this blog are writers. Here’s a premise you won’t easily forget: a black bear in the woods of Maine discovers a briefcase with a fully typed, completed book manuscript inside it. Naturally, the bear finds a literary agent and passes the book off as his own. A satirical look at New York publishing and Hollywood. It’s written by the great William Kotzwinkle, who is one of the funniest writers alive. (He’s the author of the Walter the Farting Dog series, so you know you’re in for a ride.)

Click photo to check out the book. (Amazon affiliate link.)

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LAST BUT NOT LEAST…

Now, a word about my wife’s book. Denise has five events in four states during October 2026. Check out her event calendar here to see if you can see her. The summer book tour was a whirlwind, but the fall is pretty intense too. Don’t miss your chance to visit with her and learn about her bestselling book, Obstinate Daughters.

Now a National Bestseller. Click to learn more about the book. (Amazon affiliate link.)

TWO WAYS TO GET DENISE’S BOOK:

About those autographed copies:

Unless Denise is coming to a bookstore near you, the best way to get a signed copy of her new book is to order from Malaprop’s, the indie bookstore in our hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. They are a great small business, and they have been delivering Denise’s books to happy customers for 15 years without a hitch. You can’t go wrong. If you think you would like the book inscribed a certain way to a friend or family member, I recommend phoning the store to make sure they have all those details down correctly.

BELONG TO A BOOK CLUB?

We have a system in place for sending a reader’s guide and swag to any book clubs that write in via Denise’s website. We just need a snail mail address (USA only) and some idea of how many people are in your group. If you want to schedule a book club visit with Denise, we can do that too. Send us your note here.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW OBSTINATE DAUGHTERS T-SHIRTS?

Yes, we went there! We’re selling cool new “Obstinate” shirts at our new Joe & Denise store. A ton of different designs, and a sprightly array of colors. I’ll talk in greater detail about the store some other time, but suffice to say, you won’t want to miss what we’ve got going on over there. As it turns out, the shirt I’ve been sharing on these blogs all these weeks has turned out to be the most popular one we sell…

Click the shirt to learn more!