Where did the topsoil disappear to?

The view west from Buckhorn Road this morning.

I am curious - the topsoil along the project was to be removed from the area and stored off to the side, and then returned. 

Looking west, from right to left, there is the (mostly) original land level (riddled with stump removals and other disturbances). Next there is the 1952 line (yellow markers), then a 1' terrace graded drop. I drew a line for the proposed PSNC 2014 line. The 1999 Cardinal/Williams line up the center of the photo (yellow markers again) and then on the other side of the Cardinal line there's another 1' drop, and no sign of the removed topsoil in sight. 

So, where is it...? Where did the topsoil go?

Edit: It was my understanding there would be a pile of it. I was told today that there was not that much topsoil. I guess all that foliage in the field just grew in a very shallow bit...? See where it says "continuous silt fence" on the left in the picture? Some of it is over there. 

Edit: Upon further observation, how is this possible? How can you terrace a field down by 1 foot, then terrace it again by another foot, and have no discernible topsoil left? Where is the DIRT? And where is all the plant matter that was there? Was the bulk of the topsoil taken away with that? 

The Bear

Holy crap.
Right before noon yesterday I was looking out the back window of the house and I swear I saw an actual BEAR walking from north to south, outside of my back chainlink fence. I could see the thick black shape, with thick black legs. By the time I got closer to the window, the view of the creature's path was blocked from my view by trees.

I thought - aww, okay, what if it's just Niko (my big dog), so I checked, and Niko was asleep on the front porch. I stood on the back porch and looked out, and then I saw a deer walking by. I thought - there's no way a deer would just wander along the same path as a BEAR, is there? Yes, that's it - I must have seen a deer the first time, with really thick legs, yeah... shadows, yeah...

We have a deer carcass out in our front woods, and the other day I noticed it had been dragged about 3 yards from its original location. Yes, bears will eat carcasses.
In the evenings the dogs often bark at something off in the woods - I figured it was directed at whatever scavenger was working on the carcass never once imaging that scavenger could actually be a BEAR...

I think it really was a bear.

My critters mostly stay inside of the chain link fence, except for the cats. We just walked along the back fence and saw nothing definitive. The carcass in the front woods is almost down to bone, so that bear buffet is almost over. But now I suspect we know what dragged the carcass so far.



Although an older article, it shows that bears have been spotted out this way:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=9154045

From: http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mammals/BlackBear/TransientBearsinTownsandCities.aspx

"Are black bears dangerous?
Black bears, by nature, are not aggressive animals. They peacefully coexist in close proximity to humans year-round throughout North Carolina. The presence of bears in these new areas should not be immediately viewed as cause for alarm or fear."

Bears in Central North Carolina:
http://www.co.orange.nc.us/AnimalServices/documents/BearsinCentralNorthCarolina_fromWebsite.pdf

Black Bear:
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mammals/BlackBear.aspx