Before we went to Wrangell (see “Old Homes Week”), I found the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce vendor map on line, showing what booths would be where on Wrangell’s downtown streets during the celebrations. When I saw an area marked “Human Hamster Balls” I knew we’d have to check it out.
MIchelle in a human hamster ball (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
Everywhere that can be remotely considered bear country, every publication that refers to compost tells the reader not to put fish waste in their pile. Fish, perhaps the most effective fertilizer known to Nature, attracts bears. This fact gets flogged repeatedly, ubiquitously, almost annoyingly.
I know the rule, but I often flaunt it. We have very few bears around our “homestead,” so I sometimes bury the remains of fish I’ve caught deeply (more or less) in the compost pile, and hope for the best.
A friend in Wrangell, whom we visited briefly, asked if we have bear trouble here. I blithely told him that we almost never see them here, then regaled him with a few examples of my moose trouble (see Charged By a Moose). When we returned home, I filled our crab bait capsule with fish waste, then buried the rest in the compost. I even thought of the rule against doing so even as I decided I could get away with not digging quite so deep this one time.
Yesterday, I got busted.
…and then, Papa Bear said, “Who’s been pooping in my yard?” (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
