Summer in Vermont usually has only one or two serious drawbacks, the main one being mosquitoes. This year, something larger looms.

This morning, I was chatting with my next-door-neighbor prior to the beginning of the annual village yard sale, and she mentioned that their bird feeder had been mangled in the night. That’s a rather frightening thing to hear your neighbor say because it can only mean one thing: bears. “Yes,” she said calmly, “our friends up the street had two of theirs disturbed a few nights ago. Maybe we should call the Game Warden.” What? You didn’t call 911 first thing this morning?! I’m not a native like she is nor am I as experienced with “game” as she is, so very large, hungry nocturnal predators tend to freak me out.

How do you bear-proof a yard full of berries?