Bears and Ash Trees

The mountain ash tree's annual berry crop has been in full ripening mode the last week or so.  These tree's are native to the area and wide spread - birds and bears spread their seeds just about everywhere and they grow well in many sites.  The robins and black and grizzly bears love the berries, although it's hard to see what the bears get out of them when you look at the piles of droppings they leave.

The trees in this photo have been worked over by a couple of grizzly bears in my yard this week, they bend the trees over until they can either get the berries or the tree breaks - some of these stems were 3" in diameter.  The ash trees respond the next year by putting out twice as many shoots and every year the trees seem to be just as full of berries and everyone is happy, just a little cleanup before the snow comes and we are set for another year.  Grizzly