Anna Stady loves to bake.
“I still rule my kitchen,” said the 95-year-old, who does not take kindly to strangers rummaging through it – be they of the two-legged, or four-legged variety.
So when she came across a juvenile bear in the kitchen of her Union Bay home on Friday afternoon, she let it know it didn’t belong there.
“It was just after lunch,” she said. “I came in from the dining room and there he was. I said ‘what are you doing here? Get out of here.’ I didn’t push him, but I just sort of walked towards him and away he went.”
The bear went into the middle of her yard, and after more coaxing from Stady, the bear left the property.
“I thought that was the end of that, so I went back into the house to watch television, and not too long after that I heard a racket in the kitchen,” said Stady. “Sure enough, he’d come back. He’d pulled out the sugar bin and there was sugar all over the floor. He made a real mess.
“Well, now I was really cross with him, and I told him so. I said ‘I’m really angry with you. Go home and don’t come back.’ I guess he believed me, because as far as I know, he hasn’t been back.”
Stady said she has lived in the house for 50 years but this was the first time she’s ever had a bear on her property, much less in her house.
“Someone told me there are bears in the area but I don’t recall ever seeing one before,” she said. “Then again, I don’t get out much. I’m 95 and I’m lazy.”
She added she was never frightened during the ordeal.
“I never really thought about being frightened,” said Stady. “He was a beautiful bear. Black, shiny and really quite handsome.
“The bear and I got along just fine. I guess he knew he should just be a good kid and do as he’s told.”
Conservation officers brought a bear trap out to the Stady residence Friday night, but the animal has not returned.
“There’s a nice container of honey in there for him but maybe he doesn’t like honey,” Stady said with a laugh.
terry.farrell@blackpress.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
