"Mmmm, beechnuts!"

Just when I thought I had checked every beech tree on Mt. Toby for bear claw marks, I happened upon this one entirely by accident. I was following deer, of course, when I stumbled upon this average-sized beech tree growing between the main hiking trail and a huge swathe of mountain laurel. Claw marks went all the way up the trunk, bringing the bear straight to the source of burly little beechnuts. The laurel is probably the only reason the bear even dared to climb this tree, knowing he could quickly be out of sight if some big bad humans came around. These claw marks are probably several years old, so there was no need for me to be on my toes, not to mention that there's still 8-12" of heavy snow out there and even the deer are having a hard time finding food. Spring is in the air though, and I'm sure the fuzzy wuzzies are starting to stir. I'm already hearing stories of demolished birdfeeders - time to take mine down too!