Thursday 17 July 2014

IN WHICH THE THREE RETURN, AND OTHER MATTERS

The Three "Musketeers"

You may have wondered what became of our baby Robins. Well, they have been back. Usually one at a time. But last evening, all three came together. They were all grouped around the bird bath. Which I suppose is a reasonable place for them to be. Their "watering hole."

But they are not babies any more.




They are twice to three times this size. Almost "all growed up." So the news continues to be good.

Now, if I can remember to take my camera with me every time I go out, I may get a newer picture.

The other main visitor is a baby Magpie. I am usually able to encourage it and its parents to move on after a short visit. Only today I discovered there are three of those babies, too. And they are getting very large! Sigh!


More from Alaska

As mentioned a while ago, we were on a cruise to Alaska in June. We saw all kinds of wonderful sites and sights. 

Including Bears!

Right in town!


This one was a bit wary of his surroundings

This one was perfectly at home.

Only in Alaska, you say? Dreadful pity.

Blessings and Bear hugs, from them, and me!


Today's Weather Report

Today's high is supposed to 25°C (77F), but it will feel more like 30C (86F). Rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

Right now, it's about 22C (72F)

The problem is that the sky was overcast when I first got up, and there has been only a little clearing of clouds. Who knows; we may have rain in time for lunch.

44 comments:

  1. I envy you the ability and desire to take a cruise. The older I get, the odder I get. Soon I'll be the crazy, wild haired woman on the corner who keeps her shades pulled and has a house full of cats. Well, maybe one cat, as long as Beau approves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My first, and last, cruise. Complicated by the fact that, the day before we left home, I came own the stirs on my back. I do not recommend that as a desirable mode of transportation. It is undignified, and, what's more, it hurts. A whole lot!

      And in you aging, you will open a cat house? "Hmmmm," said the Bear. "You may be more fun than I thought. I'll bet you've been watching Game of Thrones."

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
    2. A cat house, eh? You wild woman, Dana. When I was a kid and we'd get dressed up to go to dinner at the officers' club, we'd each get a spritz of perfume and my dad would say, It smells like a French cat house in here.

      Delete
    3. Good grief! Has this blog turned into "true confessions"?

      Delete
  2. So sweet that the robins hang around close to home. They'll always be your babies. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, yes, I suppose. Now, here's the question: will any of them come back next year?

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  3. What fun! I'm a little scare of cruising the open water..but many of my friends have been and loved it. I hope you had a wonderful time! It's a toad strangler out today, so I am stuck indoors. Have a great weekend, Bear!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I cannot say I am terribly excited about cruising, but the experience was OK. I saw some different places, so that was good; I met some other Bears, so that was good.

      Think of the weather this way, Terri: "When you're hot, you're hot." Well, whatever.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  4. You might be interested to know I took one of those 'wacky' internet quiz things to determine what kind of Bear I am ... turns out I am most like the Polar Bear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, of course you are a Polar bear. You're a very cool lady.

      Blessing and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  5. Willy Dunne Wooters and I agree that we have absolutely no interest in cruising––not in any fashion. I'm glad your cruise worked out for you, but we see news stories all the time about cruise ships limping into port after a fire or some other emergency that usually ends with toilets that overflow, or people overflow because they've caught a virus on board. Furthermore, I have one word for you: Titanic.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a titanic end to your comment! As the French would say, «formidable!»

      Cruising: I've done it once. I survived. End of story.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  6. Oh my. The bears are taking over the world. Keep those critters away from the purty birds.

    Alaska is a beautiful place.

    Sorry about your back. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Relax, Reffie: the Birds are way too fast for the Bears. Except when one accidentally lands on your snout. Then you're too surprised to do anything.

      I can appreciate your sentiments about Alaska. It is also cooler that the southern 48. So to speak.

      And the back is still here and semi-useable.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  7. Wow, baby robins and baby magpies too. Isn't it wonderful living in a house that has a real garden to welcome these friends?

    I loved seeing some of the bears you met in Alaska.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is so nice to have a real back yard. Way better than living in that human filing cabinet! (Sorry you are stuck in one.)

      Glad you enjoyed meeting my new friends. But I've lost their names and email addresses, so I guess that's the end of the conversations.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  8. Your comments are almost as much fun as the original post. You are now home again after your (one time) cruise? And you saw some fellow bears, it seems! You are much more handsome, though, I just have to say. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aw, that's very sweet of you to say I'm more handsome than the others! But, truth be told, Brown Bears are much better-looking than Black Bears. (No, I'm not the least bit biased; why do you ask?)

    There are some things where once is enough. For me, that includes cruising. Glad I went on that one, but not again (as far as I can tell). I think I've reached the point of enjoying staycations more than vacations. And as for jumps out of perfectly good airplanes, I feel like none would be too many. But I hope you keep enjoying that.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Glad your renters returned. A trip to Alaska sounds awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yes; it's great to see the babies again. But there have been others. One quite unexpected. They'll be in next week's "livestock report."

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  11. How cool about the cruise, I've always wanted to go to Alaska and apparently that is the best way to do it. That poor bear, relegated for eternity to sit on a pink stool...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Overall, I think a cruise would be better than driving the Alaska HIghway. Certainly much more relaxed. Only takes a week; start in Seattle or Vancouver, Canada.

      And Bears, being Bears, are pretty tough. I asked him about the seat colour, and he said it didn't matter to him. As long as he could sit there and get hugs from the tourists.

      Blessings and Bear hugs, from both of us!

      Delete
  12. I know you must have had a great time on your Alaska cruise. And how sweet, all three returned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes it is nice to see the baby Robins. But we're inundated with other critters as well: Magpies, Yellow Warblers, Northern Flickers, Crows — and (I think) a Skunk. Almost as exciting as at your place, with Cougars climbing poles!

      The cruise was dandy; first time and last, I think.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  13. All good. Except the odd bear hug.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh. Cosmo! Bears are very sensitive to other creatures frailties. We wont "over-hug," unless someone is being obnoxious. You're not that kind of critter.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  14. Love the picture of the robin bird. I don't see many birds here besides pigeons, crows and doves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the pic. I've got more of them, with the babies looking quit grown up. That will be later in the week. Wish you had more birds in your life!

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  15. We love watching the 'wildlife' in our yard and woods. Just this week I have seen turtles, red-tailed hawk (the younger), pileated woodpeckers (a pair), a black snake (harmless), and a wide array of song birds. Oh, I have not seen one lately but we regularly have a great horned owl. It's almost like a zoo and we love it!

    Bises,
    Genie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI, Genie: great to see you. My goodness, what an exciting list of creatures you have at your place. I haven't seem Pileated Woodpeckers for a long time — they're not exactly urban birds. But we have had a Great Horned Owl — it drove the Magpies crazy!

      What kinds of birds have you seen in Paris?

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  16. How wonderful they returned.

    I would love to visit Alaska

    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is great to see them growing. Maybe one will come back next year and build its own nest.

      Alaska is very interesting. I will put up a few pictures at some point.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  17. We visited Anchorage once and the hotel had numerous displays of bears, all types. Never realized how gigantic polar bears are and scary. Impressive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you've been to a bit of Alaska. And those Polar Bears are enormous.The largest of us Brown Bears, the Kodiak, can get up to 1,400 pounds, while a male Polar Bear can weigh up to 1,500. We Grizzly Bears (males) sometimes reach 800 pounds — a lot smaller than Polar Bears.

      The sad fact is that all of us, Browns and Whites, are either vulnerable or endangered. It is only the smaller Black Bears which are doing well.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  18. I can stare at birds endlessly. The cutie pictured above is darling. Maybe I'll get a feeder some day. I was considering it once, until I was told that mice visit to eat the bird food on the ground and that snakes visit to eat the mice! There are wetlands in my back yard, so snake sightings are occasional.

    An Alaskan cruise is on my wish list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Snakes near the back yard can be a bit of a challenge. I don't know what to suggest. We have just discovered a Chipmunk has arrived in our yard, and is cleaning up the "leftovers" from the birds. But no sign of a snake.

      I think you would love to see Alaska. I'm going to post a few more pictures in a bit.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  19. A journey to Alaska seems a great place for a bear to undertake. Glad to know I'm not the only one who forgets the camera.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A trip to Alaska is entirely Bearable. And I didn't forget my camera; the pictures are coming.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  20. So glad you managed to get away on a cruise. Hope things are good your end?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Yes the trip was good. More pictures are coming. Things here are — well, yes, er, um. Latest trick: fell off a ladder, landed on my back. I do not recommend that. Backs will only allow a certain amount of mistreatment; I think my luck has just run out. Finally. Sadly.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  21. Love the photo of the baby robin now growing up. I love birds. So glad you and Mrs Bear had a wonderful time on your cruise. Plus, it must have been great seeing bears! Right in town LOL! (love your sense of humor) :) Bear hugs to you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup; great cruise. Probably won't do it again, but there's a first time for about everything.

      The baby robins are about adult sized now. I saw the three of them together in the yard yesterday.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete
  22. Oooh, a cruise! I have no desire! Ha! Glad it was ok and you met other bears! Now that is a feat! Not many will ever meet a bear! *smile*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some might think meeting another Bear is a bit quirky, but not for me. Bears is my "people."

      Thanks for coming by for the visit; hope to see you again.

      Blessings and Bear hugs!

      Delete

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