Bear in Mind the Forces of Nature

Rarely subtle, but fiercely beautiful, nature reminds us from time to time who the visitors are. In Northern California, neighborhoods built in ancient swamps returned to their naturally sodden state after rain-soaked levies collapsed. Locally, the winds of last week howled down out of the passes, as if to say that we who defy earthquakes, floods and fires ought not get too cocky.

Wide patches of the San Fernando Valley went without power for days. The wind knocked tractor-trailer trucks over as if they were Tonkas and uprooted trees from Woodland Hills to Pacoima. The crystalline skies came with a price--from lives lost and homes destroyed to more minor inconveniences such as chapped lips and wild hair.

Then, just as the winds petered out, a 300-pound black bear meandered down out of his home in the Angeles National Forest to check out the goings-on in Santa Clarita--which to the bear probably seemed as wild as his home might to a Santa Claritan. His ancestors once roamed these parts in greater numbers, pushed out or killed off by the emerging metropolis. Of course, the bear was likely scrounging for food, but it’s tempting to think that maybe he came back to his family’s old stomping grounds to see how we two-legged critters were treating the place. Or perhaps just to remind us who has been around longer.

Or, maybe, he just wanted to get in out of the wind.