Spring is definitely here, and with it comes (soon, I hope) warm breezes, flowers, Easter and the Meriden Avenue bear.  I know this because said bear has been sighted out and about having awakened from its winter nap very, very hungry.

The bear has a fondness for Peg Lewis’ birdfeeders, so he dropped by there a couple of weeks ago.  Last night, he made it to the church and the parsonage.  He dropped by the house and bent two wrought iron plant hangers with bird feeders on them right to the ground to sample the seeds contained therein.  He then dropped by the dumpster, well more accurately, he dropped in the dumpster by pushing one of the two lids into the dumpster.  He then proceeded to climb into the dumpster and remove a bag of trash.

Our crafty visitor then took the bag and sat under a nearby tree.  He opened the bag, and much to his delight he found a feast delivered by the members and friends of the First Baptist Church.  You see, we had a festive potluck supper last Saturday night and dutifully bagged and put all our dirty plates, discarded food, napkins, cups, cookie containers and a variety of other tasty treats in the dumpster.  Needless to say, the bear was thrilled to be served such a fine repast!

I, on the other hand, was not so thrilled.  I didn’t have the bearish strength to pull the lid back out of the dumpster, so I had to call upon Bill McKay to drop by to lend a strong arm.  I did put on plastic gloves and manage to collect (again) the trash and place it in the dumpster – again.

What can I say?  The bear was hungry.  He found a great meal and enjoyed a potluck dinner.  The only thing that irks me is that there were empty American Baptist Missions offering envelopes in that trash bag.  He could have at least made a donation!