The other day, my wife and I were sitting at the dining room table having lunch together. She had just received the latest issue of “Better Homes and Gardens” in the mail and was perusing it. I was looking out the window watching the Special Forces Squirrel Squad carry out Operation Urgent Belly as they overtook the birdfeeders with stealth and nibbles.

I happened to glance down at where my wife was in her magazine and saw a page that had a photo of a bear. I wondered how a bear would make our home and garden better, so I asked my wife.

“No, Mike, I’m not thinking about getting a giant brown bear to improve the potency of our compost. It’s an advertisement.”