October 29, 2026, Seward Folly

Commentary and photos by Kaycie Mallory

With four children at home, including an infant, our mornings are busy enough. Now we’ve got a black bear to check for, too. We live near the Two Lakes area, where our dog first spotted him in our crabapple tree on October 20. The bear returned the next day, left a generous pile of scat sometime before the 24th, and showed up again on the 25th and 27th. This is the third autumn in the past decade that a bear has found this tree, so I suppose word has gotten around.

The crabapples are nearly gone, and he’s eaten most of the ones that fell to the ground. Still, he keeps coming back to check. Our dog has nearly barked himself hoarse, but the kids are delighted. They take turns with a flashlight each morning, checking for our visitor before we head off to school.

I don’t mind sharing the last of the crabapples. I just hope he doesn’t discover my carrot bed.