Must be that time of year again

Fall clearly is upon us, based on the email I got recently from my home owners' association. My county population is growing rapidly, but we still are rural enough to merit warnings like this:

Black bears are beginning a period of increased feeding activity in preparation for winter hibernation. During this time, bears may become more attracted to human-provided food sources and lose their natural fear of people, which can lead to dangerous encounters.
Keeping trash, pet food and birdfeeders in a place where bears can’t get to them is the best way to avoid problems with the omnivores. Marylanders should also delay feeding songbirds until the winter months to avoid attracting bears.
Since bears may travel many miles in search of food, motorists traveling in Maryland’s western counties are reminded to watch for them crossing roads, especially during October and November. Bears will begin entering dens in mid-November, with most denned by mid-December.

We see bears here and there. Black bears will leave you alone most of the time, because they are more scared of you than you are of them. But I am told that they are in some ways the most dangerous of the three main kinds of bears in North America. Brown bears, or grizzlies, will attack if they think you are a threat. They stop if they think you no longer are a threat. Hint: play dead. Polar bears attack if they are hungry. They will eat you. If a polar bear attacks you, it is hungry and wants to eat you, and if you cannot kill it, it will kill you. Game over.

Black bears almost never attack anyone who is not messing with their cubs. But sometimes they do, and no one knows why. So it pays to be careful around black bears, even if there are no cubs present. You never know when one will decide to fuck you up just because it can. And believe me, despite being much smaller than grizzlies and polar bears, black bears can fuck you up.