Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 24 June 2018

Thank you for the Black bear picture Diane.

OG and Lindy, What was the story of Hope please?

Hello all, just been reading about your news.

Heather - how lovely to be a grandma again and the names chosen are delightful.   Unfortunately the priviledge of being a grandmother will elude me as son married an older girl and dau has not yet found a partner but love hearing about those who are and have grandchildren.

I remember when I had my first my mum came to stay for a week to help out, as she did when I had our second daughter (lost one in between) and we were living in Essex at the time.  Came down and helped out taking our son to school and making meals and the general help. Was very lucky. Mind you  when they leave then the real world appears, still we coped.

AQ - that tart sounded scrummy.

Rosy - enjoy the time with your granddaughter.

Well, off to the gym in the morning for a swim, hopefully we can get in the pool properly instead of having to go down those metal steps which I hate  ( always afraid of slipping on them).  Weather has been very kind down here and we have not seen a drop of rain for 2 weeks , surely we must get some soon.  Not keen on the very hot weather and sit inside in the shade.

Heather – Pretty names. I’m not surprised Bella is “acting up”. She must sense the vibes, worries & highs of the last few days. I’ sending you and Mum & Dad lots of patience.

It’s 8 am and 4.1 C, up from a min of 2.7. Needless to say OH has a/c on.

Heather: That's a lovely name for your new grandchild. I'm sure Bella will settle in once the intense emotions have passed.

Rosy: Nice to see you. Enjoy your time with your granddaughter. You asked about Hope. 

Some biologists were studying black bears in Minnesota. As part of the study, they installed a webcam near the den of Lily, an adult black bear. People everywhere watched the birth of her cub, Hope. The bears became a sensation, and thousands of people watched their lives on the webcam and on the film taken by a wildlife photographer on site. For a time, Hope was lost, but was eventually reunited with Lily. When Hope was a yearling, she was shot by a local hunter and died. I think I've got the story right. I never watched that webcam, because I knew the story wasn't going to end well. Info here.

Annette: I hope the work on the house is going smoothly, and you're not getting too tired. It must be difficult to be away from your own space for so long. That's very odd about the snake "chasing" Ms. D. Not sure what I'd make of that. Here's one of those goofy weird funnel clouds that were falling out of the sky last week around here. This one is a bit north of me.

Good Morning. Sunny here already and a very hot (for us) day forecast, so we're packing up and leaving soon. We have air con in the car but often travel with the windows open.

Thank you to Diane for the potted history of poor Hope - it sounds as if you've got it right, to me.

Lindy and anyone interested. The Saga Sapphire cruise ship is in Lerwick Harbor, as well as the Zura, a big Marine Scotland ship that handles fisheries protection and enforcement (and research, I think). You can see both on the Town Hall East cam and the new Victoria Pier cam.

We had brown snakes on the farm. One chased my sisters towards the house. Miss Agile climbed the picket fence, t’other sister stopped to open gate. Mum heard screams, went to find out to find snake wrapped around t'other's waist with its head in hem of dress. Mum grabbed tail, sister unwound, snake thrown on ground. Hours later after visit to Doc (20 min drive) and no injury found, Dad went hunting for snake. It was vertically up a tree trunk post in corner of old car shed. Snakes always came to house seeking water. BTW even baby browns are highly venomous.

AQ: I've read about how venomous they are. You all must have been terrified. That's an incredible experience.