M. Lisa Monroe - Express News Staff

I have a cautionary tale for everyone out there in bear land, commonly known as the Adirondacks.

We have not had any bear activity at our house for about five years, now. We take down the bird feeders when the snow starts to melt, we take our garbage out about a half hour before they pick it up, I don't leave food or fast food bags in my car (I had to learn the hard way after one of my cars was totaled by a bear desperate to get my son's empty lunch bag. The bear broke out three of my car's windows and tore up all of the upholstery.), and we don't feed the dogs outside, even in the fenced in yard.

All in all we're pretty bear smart and the vigilance has paid off. There are bears in the neighborhood, of course, but they weren't interested in our place.

Then I missed garbage pick-up. I must have only missed it by a few minutes. I left for work and when I came home it was still there. I should have gone out and brought it back in the house right then. But we hadn't seen any bears, so I ignored it and figured I'd grab it the next morning and take it to the transfer station.

The bear got to it first. Bears can take a tablespoon of garbage and spread it out over a two mile radius, so it was a pain to clean up, and even worse than the clean up is the fact that now the bears think it's a good idea to check out our house while they're making their rounds. One lapse in five years and now they act like we've been handing out bacon grease and birdseed sandwiches.

There are two of them, one that looks like a yearling and one great, big older bear. There have been bear prints on my car and one of them has been in the shed checking things out. So now we're on high risk bear protocol. We keep the screen door and inside door locked, we've put the grill in the house, and the humming bird feeder has been taken down (even though it's in the yard with the electrified fence).

We are going to have to be extra vigilant. Bears are quick learners and with my laziness I've taught them to come onna by our house. Sigh.

Here are some reminders from the DEC on how to keep this from happening to you.

• Clean old refrigerators and other insulated containers that are left outside.

• Turn off kitchen exhaust fans that vent to the outside when not in use. Make sure the vent screen is cleaned regularly.

• Do not feed family pets outside. An empty dish can attract a bear.

• Leave outdoor lights on, or a radio playing, all night.

• Do not hand-feed bears from cars at campgrounds or dump sites.

And never, never, never leave your garbage out overnight. Never.