Scruffy Says, "Hi!" 

Look who wanted in-the-tub when I was still filling it with fresh water!
I spoke calmly and let Scruffy know that I was almost finished with my work there. I still had a lot more water to put in the big tub, though. After a long pause, Scruffy proceeded to come forward, slowly.
It’s always best to give bears plenty of space. Bears need options, and they always need an out. That’s part of the reason I tend to drive the van down when I’m doing maintenance on the Rub-a-Dub-Tubs. That cleaning work can take a while, so it’s good for me to have a ‘safe room’ in case situations like this arise. Typically, if the bear doesn’t know me, they’ll promptly exit stage left or stage right, loudly galumphing their way deeper into the forest. But, the bears who seem to know me, will often act more curious, like Scruffy was doing here. Sometimes the bears will get up on their hind feet, too. That hind-leg stance is typically a sign of sincere curiosity, and not aggression, btw. Bears often get up on their hind legs to get a better gauge of whatever situation they’re in - they’re just wondering who you are, and whether you are a threat. (After his injury, it’s harder for Scruffy to stand on his hind legs, but he still manages to do that when he’s marking trees, since the trees can provide him the necessary support.)
So, since Scruffy was determined to continue on his original, intended path, I turned off the hose, laid it on the ground and got into my van to give him some personal space. I wanted him to be able to continue wherever he wanted to go without feeling threatened by my presence. Instead of coming up to the tub, he turned right, down Crooked Tree Trail. I know he was busy following the scent marks that his ginormous buddy, Frosty, had left just yesterday. I recently finished editing that Frosty video, so I’ll be posting that soon. The curved sapling where Scruffy first paused is where Frosty had done some serious marking yesterday. Frosty practically bit that tree in half. Frosty also scarred up a tree on Crooked Tree Trail, which is probably why Scruffy took a right since the tub was already occupied.
What’s endearing is that Scruffy didn’t go very far. But he went far enough past that we could both feel safe. That allowed me to get back out of the van and finish filling the tubs. The entire time I was working there, though, I could hear him. He was probably marking all the same spots where Frosty had marked, while waiting for me to hurry the hell up and finish filling his damned tub, already. Impatient bear. 😂
So, I finally got the last tub filled, and the hose stored away and I disconnected the hose from the well. I called out to Scruffy and said, “It’s all yours!” Then I got into the van and drove back home.
I wondered how much time would elapse between the time I left the tub area and the time Scruffy (or another bear) would get in the water. A short while later I peered down the long driveway and saw that my rubber-ducky barometer had indeed plummeted. That means a bear had gotten in the tub already. It’s been terribly hot and dry here, so fresh water is super important for all the critters right now. I’ll go check on the trail cameras in a little bit to see who got first dibs on that fresh water. I’m hoping it was Scruffy!