By the time you read this, Diane and I will either have bear meat in the Reynolds freezer or not.

If we do, great! We like bear meat. The backstraps make wonderful roasts, cooked slow in an oven-roasting bag with potatoes, onions, carrots, and a cup of Burgundy.

Diane’s bear-burger lasagna is the best. She once served it to a guest who said she abhorred wild meat and the mere idea of getting protein from the woods. As soon as the guest finished her lip smacking, a second helping and her last swallow of Cabernet Sauvignon, Diane dropped the bomb. We’ve enjoyed many other wild meat lasagna dishes since then, and our guest-convert has returned to enjoy them many times.

Truth is, when it comes to bear hunting, I can take it or leave it. That is to say that in early August, when Diane says, “What about a bear hunt this year,Pup?” I am frankly slow to warm to it. Once there, though, and my sleeves are rolled up, I ‘m into it.

Bear hunting is not deer hunting There is a lot more preparatory work. There are weeks of baiting, putting up tree stands and taking them down, getting the bear out of the woods, properly cooled down and processed. I just shake my head at those misinformed souls who are convinced that hunting baited bears is unsportsmanlike because “it is just too easy to shoot a bear over bait.” If they think so, they should try it sometime. The bears I have tried to outwit are smart and wary with a keen sense of smell. Most successful bear hunters sit motionless for hours in tree stands. I’ve watched bears hang back “off stage” studying the setup. Often they wait for marginal light or a telltale whiff before venturing forth.

Once the work is done, bear hunting is a hoot. Just seeing a bear come to a bait site is a thrill. It is Diane’s favorite hunt, and she’s tried it all. We have watched many bears through our scopes and never squeezed the trigger. Some were too young and, in a few cases, the shot scenario was just too marginal. I once watched a sow with two cubs dig into the donut pile. The crotchety old sow was just motherly enough to give the cubs a few seconds in the goodies. Then she would snap her teeth and off the little ones would scamper. It was a captivating half-hour show, and well worth the price of admission.

Deciding it was too much work, Diane and I took a rain check on the hunt last year. But we were lured back again this year by it all and wonderful memories of earlier hunts. When I say “by it all,” I’m referring to the adornments of the hunt, everything that goes with our quest for a Maine black bear.

Late August and early September is a pleasant time of year, especially in the Maine woods. A bear hunt can be as leisurely as you make it. Unlike a deer hunt in which you have to pry yourself out of the sack at an obscene hour in the morning, a bear hunter — even an impassioned one — can stay up late and sleep in. Temperatures are usually comfortable, good for splitting up camp wood or watching the sun go down in a tree stand as the afternoon breeze dies down and the quiet forest becomes a listening post for critters of every size and description.

In other words, like many other outdoor pursuits, we don’t have to kill something to have a good time. Bringing home some bear meat is just the frosting on the cake. Speaking of sweets, there is one bear hunt adornment that looms very large, as far as I’m concerned. It’s a personal fetish really. Diane, who plays a key role, once asked me if I would bother to bear hunt without it. This adornment can make a bear hunt week, if put together right. Give up?

Blackberry pie. Homemade blackberry pie. Diane’s homemade blackberry pie made from plump, juicy berries picked out back and eaten warm, fresh out of the oven.

In an effort to leave you with something useful here, I asked Diane for permission to reprint her blackberry pie recipe. “Do you have rocks in your head? I have no recipe,” she scolded .”Anyone who makes berry pies can make a blackberry pie. You just use blackberries instead of raspberries, strawberries, or what have you.”

Well, excuse me. I stand corrected. You’ll just have to find an old Betty Crocker recipe. Meantime, get out there and pick some berries. They are in abundance.

While in the berry patch, keep your eyes and ears open though. Bears like berries, too, in pies or fresh-picked off the vine.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].