Bear Scare! (Now you see it. Now you don't!)

I'm not the one being scared -- hopefully the bear is!  You see...  now that I've been home during the day, I'm able to see what goes on while we're usually away.  What I've noticed is that this bear has been coming to our yard several times every single day! 

It's been making itself very comfortable, it seems, like it's one of the family!  It sits down, scratches itself, lays down and nibbles on stuff or settles in for a nap!  It's gotten to the point that it's not detered by my presence--tripod and all--or even that of our cats.  As cool as is for me to study it and photograph it right out our back door, it's not in our best interest, or that of others, to have this bear not fearful of humans.  So now, when it's present, we've taken steps to deter it from 'hanging out'.  I know our property is rich in the protein it's really after, between the ants and nuts and all, but I'm sure the woods are loaded with them and it would have no trouble finding these food sorces elsewhere. 

My main objective on the day I took the following images, is to show how these animals--as big and as black as they are--can 'hide' in their natural surroundings.  They can become camouflaged so well and blend in so thoroughly, so completely, that they almost disappear right before your eyes!!  Many time they'll be right under my nose while I'm outside photographing something or other, and until they make a move or I hear crunching while they're eating, I won't even know they're there! 

For example, on this particular day I stepped out our back door to photograph the trees beyond our orchard which were changing into their fall colors.  It was a foggy day and while the ground remained clear, the mist lent the canopy of leaves an air of enchantment as the visibility faded to gray as my gaze traveled upward.

I sensed a presence.  I looked around but didn't see anything.  I heard the faint sound of crunching and tiny bits of shell falling onto the ground.  I knew there must have been a bear nearby, but where?  I followed the sound with keen eyes, and that's when I first noticed that one of those dark shadows on the ground was not a shadow at all!

Scroll through the next few images by clicking on the first one, which will take you through them without spaces in-between, and watch how this bear will come out of the shadows, and then with just a few steps, will walk behind the little bush and disappear right before your eyes!  It will then step away from that bush and walk to the next, only to disappear once again!  You know it's there, but....  is it??? 

I zoomed in for the sake of  reality, but upon regular viewing, it's hard to tell it's even there!  Amazing.