I've taken to having coffee and chat with the folks at Katmai Brooks Falls (live cam and chat) every morning. Often, in the evening, I'll pop back in to finish the day.
Bear People, I've found, are sometimes eccentric- but basically good (and interesting) people.
This month is the salmon run at Brooks Falls. Katmai has 4 bear cams and an underwater salmon cam live to capture the action.
It is fascinating.
Many on the chat have been gathering here for years. They can identify most of the bears on-screen.
Lucky for me...the gulls are ALL called Alice.
...a nearby flat rock where they like to collect is known as Alice's Restaurant...lol...
The first bear I was able to identify after 2 weeks was
#480 Otis
Younger bears get excited and splash around a lot.
Not Otis.
And his reward is almost always coming up with a salmon.
...they say sometimes he catches and eats 20+ in a day...
After nearly 2 weeks I can identify 856 (the dominant male...ears pinned back like an angry chihuahua)...747 (who is about as huge as the plane)... Chunk (big and scarred heavily)...Divot (who has a scar all the way around his neck as the result of a snare in his youth)...Holly and Jolly (very light colored females)...#903 Gully (who got his name because he sometimes eats sea gulls) and Grazer and the Grazerettes (her cubs) who is fast to temper and has been "Verbed" as in
"...did you see what happened to Chunk this morning...Yeah, he got Grazered."
Grazer doing what she does best.
...she is the lighter bear...the two in the right are her cubs...
Before hibernation they have The Fat Bear Contest...some of these get up to 1400 pounds!!!!
...makes me feel positively svelte...
Conditions have been ideal for my outside flowers and plants. Rain...then warm and sunshine.
I have learned to make a wonderful tea from the leaves, and how to prepare the shoots to incorporate into some of my Chinese recipes.
Also my neighbor's cat (Charlie) has decided to drift over almost daily and curl up for a while on my compost box.
He and Sofi chat through the glass or screen...and he likes to supervise while I'm out playing in the plants...then he heads home to eat.
A garden isn't a garden without a cat!
So, Diane is out of the hospital now.
Frankie is home.
Loretta is doing well in PT, bought one of those cube dorm refrigerators for her room, and is loving it.
Charlcie has moved in with Sue and she and The Usual Suspects (Jan, John and Kathy) are already planning their first Euchre Party.
John goes Monday for the comparison CT Scan...and we will know more what we are dealing with by Friday, I think. We also have our July Adventure planned and reservations made.
Don and I have our Summer Brunch soon.
July is always busy!
Today is Saturday...and a Cinderella Day for me...laundry...dishes...gardening...and a good nap, of course.
Have a great Weekend!
Love,
Carla
Otis in his office.
