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Where We Left Off:
The Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency was honored to partner with one the world’s foremost exorcists on a case!
The Clearing of the Woods:
In mid-August, Oliver and Gus should have been focused on the . At this point, we don’t even know if there is going to be a Bunny Hollow for much longer. The Grumpy Old Man did mow the main trail of it recently which helped a lot.
Then, during a sunrise walk, Gus and I discovered two new wooden posts on either side of the driveway at the border to Lord and Lady Theodore’s property.
“What the hell?” I said.
Gus stood still briefly, but he didn’t need to say a word. I knew what he was thinking. He could easily get around a gate as long as he didn’t have to worry about electrocution. He could go under bushes or ascend the fallen black walnut tree and be on the other side.
It didn’t take long before The Grumpy Old Man came to meet us. I think he was trying to sound reassuring or whatever the word would be for “less worrisome” about this new situation.
“They’re worried if anyone goes up there when they aren’t home,” he began, but I interrupted.
“Like delivery people? What are they supposed to do?”
“They’ll be going away and don’t want anyone up there,” he continued.
My mind was racing as was my already chronically speedy heartrate which I’m supposed to keep tabs on.
“Who will watch the animals?” I figured that might be something I could volunteer us to do in order to get access back to the property. Gus would love it! He’d get to be invited to walk all over where the sheep and pig live.
“Her parents are going to take care of the animals,” the old man said.
He bent down to pet Gus before heading off to begin his chores.
“Gus, this has serious implications,” I said. “Smaller animals like you, the squirrels, bunnies, raccoons—sure, you guys can probably get under a gate depending on what the design is; but, the deer, coyote, and bears? What are they going to do? They use this driveway too!”
“They’ll have to figure out their way through the overgrown trails. Maybe Oliver can come up with a way to convince the new people that we should get the trails back,” Gus said as he walked across the sandy patch of new earth by Bunny Hollow on his way to look for snack-worthy weeds.
While the large beasts might not feel as comfortable on asphalt or gravel, they will take to the roads when they must. There are an unfortunate number of black bears and other large beasts killed on New Jersey highways because they have no safe way to cross except for one location over Route 78 where a land bridge was constructed.
Our lives are already being impacted by the catastrophes around us on the planet. The wildlife (which we investigate all the time) are obviously going through their own impacts as well. Orcas sinking yachts. Land animals coming into towns as their lose their habitats. Birds having their migratory patterns, breeding, and food sources disrupted. Marine life going through all kinds of pollution (re: cocaine sharks). When can human beings live and learn to do so while making the least impact?
My feline partner decided we should turn around and patrol in a different direction. We ended up at the frontage of the busy street. I used that time to set up trail camera number 4 (I quickly learned I cannot have the sound recording on that one because of the noise pollution).
Who is This?
“There’s a bear.”
I heard the old man’s voice loud yet unusually calm. I looked around to see first where the bear was and then to see if Gus was in a safe spot.
The beautiful young bear was trying to come out of the woods from the Corner Trail, but he was scared of us. Gus, however, observed the fuzzy visitor for a few minutes and decided he would make a good friend. Gus started walking towards the bear as he had done previously with Silly (born 2020). Both times, Gus was held back by humans picking up his leash.
After taking many photos (and a video that accidentally got deleted), I retrieved the memory cards from the trailcams and took Gus home. We spent the next four days studying all the photos and videos we had of bears in 2024. During this week, I also tried getting some bat evidence and we met a doe a few times (she does not like us). Plus, I was exhausted and had to teach. Thursday night, I fell asleep before 7PM.
Case Findings:
During the week, Oliver spoke to one of the house finches who visits regularly. According to Ollie, Florence Finch Kelly was extremely angered by the government and unleashed a tirade on him for a solid forty minutes.
She said that she heard through her own network of anti-establishment aviary sources that bears like this one were being tranquilized and forceably pierced with two ear tags every year. This bear took the name Ridley, she explained, because it means clearing of the woods. Perhaps through translations, that meant a clearing as in an open space in the woods; or the way Ms. Kelly interpreted it to mean the woods have been cleared. This aggressive assault by humans has left Ridley traumatized and afraid of them. We, at the detective agency, can completely understand his feelings.
Gus, Oliver, and all of the humans here hope to continue seeing Ridley and wish him a long, healthy life. As far as the new gate being installed, it’ll probably be up to the weakest human (me, the biographer) to secretly reconstruct the trails so that the larger animals can come from the top of the hill down to our estate.
Case Status: Closed