Marcy and I have made weekly excursions to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the last month. We were hoping to start seeing bear cubs, but it might be a bit early. Until today, we have been settling for landscape and bird shots. Today’s bet was that we wouldn’t see anything, but we did encounter this gentleman. I must say that this is one of the prettiest bears I have seen. I would have figured he would look a bit rough after the winter. The long periods of winter deep sleep or “denning” that black bears experience is not true hibernation and I read that males are the first to leave their dens in the spring. With mostly grass to eat in March and April, these guys are hungry and grumpy. We watched this boy eating grass for a good while. He seemed to be saying “I am soooo hungry”.