Bears, fruit trees and corn

I have spoken with several Johnson Lane residents about the bear that has been seen several times now in the area of Johnson Lane, East Valley, Downs, Jones, Skyline and Kiss Lane. It appears to be coming down out of the Pine Nut Mountains to feast on the abundance of fruit on our trees. If you have lived here a few years you'll remember hearing numerous stories about bears here in the Valley. There was the one in downtown Carson City, one by Minden Medical, one spotted by quad riders at the base of Hot Springs Mountain last fall (asleep under a tree). There was a brave one at Wildflower Ridge who had climbed in the kitchen window and had a nice meal, then fell asleep in the hall. Off Jo Lane a bear was in someone's back yard. They let their big dog out and it scared the bear away. When Marie and George Snavely used to live in the Pine Nuts, they had a bear that came in every year for their delicious apples. We live in bear country and we must be aware that an encounter with a bear is definitely possible. So what can we do? Keep the trash contained. Don't leave the dog food out. Carry an air horn when you're out walking. Unfortunately, if the bear wants to eat the cherries off our trees or the apples, there probably isn't much we can do about that. Maybe if you're in the market to do some landscaping, you should stick to shade and pine trees. Be bear aware.

n The corn is in. Yeah! Wonderful, sweet, bi-colored ears. They aren't very big but they are full ears. I don't think I can even cook them, they are so good raw. That reminds me of a story. When I was a little girl, I was eating some frozen, cut corn. You know, the store-bought kind in the freezer section. I couldn't wait for Mom to finish dinner, so I would eat my vegetables still frozen. My little dog, Ginger, came over and knocked my bowl of frozen corn all over in the dirt on the side of our house, under the tetherball. A few weeks later corn sprouted. A couple months later we harvested beautiful yellow corn. My husband was out weeding his flower bed last week. He came in with a handful of corn plants. I guess the birds must have dropped some kernels there.

I planted two flowering pear trees in my front yard, so said the tags on the trees from Wal-Mart. Last year they both flowered in the spring. They were so beautiful. In August, my daughter said, "Mom, what are those orange things?" We went up and took a look. They looked like apricots? She ate all six of them and promptly had a tummy ache. This year this tree has lots of fruit, and when I showed it to one of my girl friends yesterday; she thought it looked like a golden plum tree. Either way, this turned out to be a beautiful, some kind of tree. I guess when you buy trees; you can't always trust the tags. Happy gardening!

n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.