One more thing to worry about….
…rabid bear. They shot one near Charlottesville, about an hour from here. We haven’t heard of a rabid bear, not even a rabid animal of any kind in our neighborhood for many years.
We actually do have a big mama bear on the property. She has a den just beyond the pond and in a hillside near the Rappahannock river. It’s a treat to watch her play with her cubs near the water every year. There are generally two babies but just a year ago she had four. We had never heard of that, either.