Surprise

My sister and her kids are up with my mom for a vacation. So this morning I decided to go for a walk with the 13 year-old twins and our three dogs.
"Can you show me where the blueberries are?" they asked.
"Sure. " I said. "They are on top of the hill."
I have a road that goes back about a quarter mile and then cuts up to the top of my hill. From the top of the hill you can see a lot of the mountains surrounding us this is one of my favorite places. We have a lot of berries on our property: blackberries, raspberries, and wild blueberries(which are called huckleberries locally).
I pointed out the red raspberries and several of them were ripe as well as a few blueberries we found on the side of the hill. So we picked and ate them all the way up to the top and just when I was pointing out a large patch of blueberries. I saw what no one wants to see about 50 yards in front of me. A large black bear also eating the berries. I shouted to Scooter who was a head of me and the bear bolted. Too late Scooter was in pursuit. Now the girls made a bit of a sound and Leo charged and growled, but I had him on a leash so I was able to keep him from also entering the charge. The Chihuahua was quickly scooped up by one of the girls. Then three small heads popped up...cubs! Now I was worried.
I turned everyone around and started them down the hill yelling again for Scooter hoping he had not caught up with the mother. I realized I could do nothing to help Scooter if he didn't stop on his own. For everyone safety I  needed to get everyone away from the cubs. I moved them back down the hill away from the cubs and I saw Scooter coming back to us just as the mother bear stood up over six-foot tall a distance from the cubs ready to share her feelings with anyone coming closer.
Thanks goodness we only have black bears and not grizzlies or we would have all been attacked. The bear let us move back down the mountain with a story I am sure the twins will remember for a while. As they were saying they weren't that scared and weren't the cubs cute my heart was still beating at a fast rate thinking about how close we came to someone or a dog getting seriously hurt.
Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.