Bear Crossing

This afternoon, while preparing dinner, I was staring out my kitchen window listening to the neighbors' dogs barking incessantly. Niki was standing in the middle of the backyard deck, staring towards the fence--not moving. I figured it could be either a pack of coyotes or maybe a bear.

Here's what she was staring at:

A big, black bear slowly walking towards the forest. Niki doesn't ever bark at animals--except when either "Mommy" or "Daddy" is out there with her. I grabbed my camera and walked outside. This prompted Niki to run towards the fence and started barking. The bear paused, looked towards us, and growled loudly.

Ooops... I went back inside the house as fast as I can dragging Niki with me!