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[ra]

Hi Jewelies!  Nice day here, pretty warm, but the sun isn't out. 

JP... Well... all I can say is "Good Golly, Miss Holly"!  lol  I think you gave us all a smile this morning!   

cal... You, rues and I were thinking the same thing!!  First thing I thought of was the DNR when they said they'd been hacked again at the bear center.   For me, it's ok if we didn't get to see the births of the cubs.  I can never tell one end from another when they're small.  I can't tell where mama bear starts and the cubs end.  Ok, Nash Bridges... that's right.  Geez, it seems like ages ago since that was on! 

rues... Cute... me out, me out.  lol  Yes, I have a lot of stuff I want done in the yard.  I have 7 bushes and a cypress tree that I want cut to the ground, 3 trees that limbs need to be trimmed, and some brush hauled away from a huge bush I took out last week.  My ex has quit driving now, at least he said he did.  His eyesight is getting really bad.  I told him I was proud of him for admitting that it was time to stop.  I was afraid he'd kill someone!  I think Handsome learned a lesson yesterday... he didn't even ask to go out this morning before I went to work.  He really wants to go out now, but I'm not going to let him because I have to go do the offices tonight.

Hi Nora and everyone else, too!

[ra]

rues... Forgot to tell you before... I've never heard "Now don't go running down oh my god street".  I like it!   

[jpalmken]

I posted this before but I do so enjoy it.  A mama bear (not of Shadow's Clan) with her 5 yearlings.  What a job she had.



I got up early this morning to make up for getting up late yesterday.  It did not make me feel any better.  I am so sorry that I showed that Golly bear but you can expect things like that from a GOM.  I will have to accept this as my motto, now:



To everyone, good thoughts, well wishes, and warm feelings.

[calhound]

A Visit to Jewel?s Den - UPDATE January 27, 2016

Jewel in her den
Jewel in her den
Today we wanted to answer questions about Jewel and her den. The main question was whether Jewel is alive, considering the gaping hole that let us see into her abdominal cavity at the end of August. She is not only alive but has at least one cub that she nursed nearly the whole time we were there. We also checked how easy it would be to carry the shed parts (roof, walls, etc.) to a location where the sun could sufficiently power the solar panels. In the past, we?ve done this just after deer season before the snow gets too deep to carry heavy, bulky objects. Jewel?s area is steep, rocky, and densely vegetated with many blow-downs and deep snow. We have to do more exploration to see where to put the shed and solar panels, so I asked the DNR for an extension of the 72 hours. Before we bind ourselves to rules that are more restrictive than those for the general public, we want to make sure we can place a den cam at this time of year.

Jewel in her den
Jewel in her den
The den itself is beautiful. It has an open front that allows light in. It extends so far back that there was no snow near her bed. The bright snow made it hard to see details, so we snapped a couple pictures with a long lens from outside the den. The photos revealed that the bedding is rather sparse, which means it would not obstruct our view.

The cub(s) was/were tucked away under her nursing. Jewel was awake, of course. Mothers don?t move much when they are nursing, and she had no reason to move, especially knowing it was me with my ?It?s me bear.? The first of the two pictures caught her calmly looking toward the entrance and the other with her head on her paw when she knew who was outside. So different from the reactions the Den Cams have captured to moose or other animals outside Lily?s dens. We?d love to put a Den Cam in her den and are asking for more time to schedule the logistics of getting back out there when my partner doesn?t have a doctor appointment or other business scheduled. The surprise of suddenly having 72 hours to see what is possible at this time of year caught us off guard. I also asked if the DNR would get behind this Den Cam and promote it on the DNR?s new Facebook page and show the world what we can do together if we can truly manage the logistics of getting the shed in place. I asked that in a spirit of cooperation and mending fences. I?d like to be seen as working with the DNR, and let my work speak for itself.

Jewel's den covered in snow
Jewel's den covered in snow
However, I was discouraged that the DNR letter granting the Den Cam was page after page of half-truths they made public, blackening my name. I?ll have to respond, and the truth will be more interesting than the letter; but I wish I didn?t have to spend time on that when there is such a need to move forward. Much of the letter seemed geared toward passing a feeding ban like the DNR tried to pass last year. The DNR has already approached legislators about that in preparation for the legislative session that begins in a little over a month.

Here is a link to the letter and permit.

Thank you for all you do.

Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center

[calhound]

http://www.jigzone.com/puzzles/3716CC56D26?z=18

[ruesgram]

Good morning Jewelies! Good to see Jewel in her den and know she has a baby. Hope that hole in her a abdomen is healed. Just can't comment on that DNR letter. I'd say words that could get me banned from the forum!

Cal, I had to google dolt! Lol! It's good to learn a new word! Lol! That would be so nice if you could go to San Diego with Jim but I can see why you can't! We haven't been on a vacation in years because of our 3 furry babies! Kimmie Sue was a tortoise shell stray that Robin's friends found and brought to me! She had a way of looking at you that made her look like a hoot owl! She was a sweetie. One time when I got my hair cut, I let Anne frost it. Anne had been begging me for months to let her frost it. So I gave in. When I got home Robin, who was in grade school at the time, told me my hair looked like Kimmie's! Tortoise shell looks good on a cat but not on me! Lol! Say hi to Polly for me!

Jp, that pic of the mama bear with 5 babies always amazes me! Are your temperatures back to normal?

Ra, my sister picked that phrase up when she lived in Philadelphia! Wow, you have a lot of yard work to do. Glad you are hiring someone to do it for you! That's a shame about your ex's eyes. How awful for him. Did you have to work late last night? The Blacklist tonight!

Bbl!

[ra]

Hi Jewelies!  I had forgotten that Jewel was injured last year.  Doesn't sound good... gaping hole??     I think Jewel needs some of Holly and Lucky's hay in her den.  Looks kinda pitiful.  Maybe she didn't rake more because she was hurt...

cal... My ex isn't going to help with the work... he's going to try to help with the price.  The guy just finished taking a tree out at his house and ex got the price down, so he wants to try to see if the guy will come down with my price, too.  My daughter has to pick him up and we're thinking maybe we'll all go out to eat when we're done here... 

rues... Yes, I DO have a lot of work to do!  I took one of the big bushes out myself, but it's too much for me to try to burn, so I just want that hauled away.  One of the bushes is an old crape myrtle that I've tried to saw by hand, but the trunk is really big and it's taking forever with my handsaw.  I know the guy will have a chainsaw and it will be SO much easier for him than me!  I've learned my lesson about trying to trim trees... Once the limb almost knocked me off the ladder and the other time the limb almost took my pants off.  lol  Remember that?  lol   I got home at about 6:30 last night from cleaning the office... not bad.  Looking forward to the Blacklist!  I think Handsome learned his lesson about staying away too long... today he's been going out the front door for a little while, then scratching at the back door to come back in.  He's playing revolving door.  Or, maybe, Handsome-go-round.  lol

Hope all our Jewelies are having a good day.  Time for me to get something accomplished instead of playing games and doing puzzles.   

[Nora in IA]

JP you ok    I saw there was a warning for Key West for a storm and to look out for water spouts..............

[Nora in IA]

I still can't get over that bear having FIVE cubs.

[jpalmken]

Slow day for me, the puzzle took me 7:25. 

Nora, no storm directly here.  A lot of heavy rain and more to come.  We had no hurricanes this year so the rainfall was way below normal when we entered the dry season.  The dry season has been extraordinarily wet and we have caught up to the annual amount.

[ra]

Hi Jewelies!  Well, I really like the tree guy!  He's originally from BC, Canada, but has been down here almost as long as I have.  The price he gave me was at least half of what I was expecting and he thinks he'll be here either tomorrow or the next day.  He's a little guy and his nickname is "The Iron Monkey".  lol   We ended up going to the Mexican restaurant for supper.   

JP... Glad the storm didn't hit your area.  A lot of rain isn't a good thing though when you're right at sea level in the first place, is it?

Hi Nora!

[Eaglette]

Cal, it is never a good thing when you are missing all day. 

Hope all are okay now.

[ra]

I was thinking the same thing, Eaglette...   Hope cal is just busy playing games with Polly. 

[jpalmken]

This is Bill, a good looking fellow.



They are predicting a dry day with temp about 67^o.  I expect we will see the sun.  We wouldn't be here if there was not the sun.  I feel depressed when there are several days of no sun.

I do hope cal is all right.  She is sorely missed when not posting.

I pray all of you are doing well and that you have a Sandpiper Day.

[calhound]

Lucky Loves Holly, No Den Cam in 2016 - UPDATE January 28, 2016

Red squirrel eating snow
Red squirrel eating snow
Yesterday at 11:03 AM, Lucky made gentle, friendly advances to Holly, including some licking 4 minutes and 22 seconds into the video. Holly wasn?t excited about it at first but relaxed and ended up initiating play at 5 minutes and 10 seconds in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2CkvuELml0

Lucky?s advances may have set the mood for later in the day. At 7:39 PM, they had a great time lying down and wrestling in this 12-minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZPyA7rW834

Play resumed at 9:43 PM when a Lily Fan captured this 15-minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPnyhoJBYSw. At that time, it would be nearly pitch dark in the den for the bears, but the infrared light illuminates the scene for us.

On a different topic, Manny the mannequin is getting attention. We are loading him with food to bring birds. And squirrels, as it turns out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIMCPlIUQUg. I would love it if this led to interns and Bear Educators working with parents and children to have birds land on their hands. It is hard to beat trust and contact in creating fond memories and instilling a lasting love of wildlife.

At 4 PM today, the 72 hours allowed for a decision on the Den Cam was within minutes of being up. Based on my information at that time, it would be unwise to go ahead. It would nearly impossible to place the den shed and install the Den Cam. The live footage would not be as effective for education as it could have been earlier in the season.  And I had concerns for the safety of Lily and Jewel if we went ahead. I wrote:

Lou, thank you for the DNR response we received on January 25, 2016, to our Den Cam Permit Application of November 5, 2015. Granting a single Den Cam is a step in the right direction. However, the timing and conditions of the permit make it unworkable this year for a number of reasons:

1. The 81-day delay in the response put us into a season with snow conditions that now make logistics nearly impossible.

2. Being able to comply with some of the permit conditions would be difficult within the viewing time frame that is left for the season. To make the educational purpose of this Den Cam effective, including coordinating with educators, developing curricula with spring break coming up, would be difficult to accomplish within the viewing time left this winter.

3. We had asked for the ability to maintain the Den Cams to maintain a data stream for research and educational purposes. We had asked not to be limited to an unscientific sample size in the number of Den Cams. The permit restrictions limit us to one den cam and make it difficult to maintain in a timely manner.

4. We believe the welfare of Lily and Jewel, two of the denning bears we had hoped to observe with Den Cams, would be better served by not having to reveal their locations.

I had hoped to work with the DNR this winter and show the world what we can accomplish together. Let?s try again next winter.

Lynn Rogers

To Lily Fans I say, I especially would have loved to see what students and all of us could have seen in this den with its unusually good visibility. I would have loved people around the world to follow Jewel and her cub(s) and see how Jewel deals with the wound in her side. Can she reach it with her tongue? Has it healed in the 5 months since we first saw it? How many cubs? I would have loved to increase our sample size from this additional den. But the downsides were too big. Among them, sadly, was concern for the bears, given recent history. I?ll get as much information over the winter as we legally can.

I hadn?t noticed red squirrels eating snow before, but where else would they find moisture this time of year? This squirrel happened to be doing that when I snapped his picture through the window.

Thank you for all you do.

Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center