GLORIOUS, HAPPY FRIDAY!
Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 9:14 amGOOD MORNING CEDAR AND EVERYONE!
I am in the beauiful, heavily wooded KOA campsite in Wilmington, NY, and it's glorious here! I left with black flies nearly obscuring my vision as I unhooked my lifelines and hitched up for the trip around the mountain to my favorite site here in the park, to a totally bugless environment over here! I don't even have to leave my screen door shut over here. The difference is that Wilmington has for years used BTI, a powder insecticide applied to water where the larvae of black flies and mosquitos live, and which has NO detrimental effects on any other water creatures. The few years that my community ageed to be the guinea pigs for the use of this amazing chemical, my property was one of the ones in the study. That year we had almost NO black flies and the mosquito population was way down. But it costs money, and my little town seems to think it's not worth it. Perhaps it is fitting that we don't do it, as the early birds who come there to raise their summer families probably need that source of protein. But what fun to be able to sit out around a campfire and not get constantly bitten.
My alarm went off at its usual 4:30 time this morning, as I had forgotten to turn it off! I shut it off then and rolled over, not to wake again until 8:30! Guess I needed that sleep time!
Then I went to the office to pay up for my stay, as I arrived too late last night to do that. And then, of course, I immediately got online (free, strong WiFi) to check on Lily and Hope. I was very pleasantly rewarded to see that the two of them are back as if they were never apart. So, for the nay sayers who said that Lynn and Sue should not have interfered with 'Nature,' they have now been able to dispell old beliefs that a mother bear will not take back her cubs if she has been apart from them. And we learned that a 4-month old cub, if not sick, (and this was a conjecture as to why Lily possibly left Hope) can indeed survive on its own for over 5 days with no milk from its mother, and no care. Much was learned about bear behavior, and, of course, about the compassion of human beings whose main job is science, but who cannot help their 'nature' to save a beloved creature. I hadn't realized until this morning when I read the latest update that Hope had escaped from the cat carrier she was put in a whole HOUR earlier than the reunion! The dispair on the part of those trying to bring baby and mother together must have been terrible. But, then by luring Lily to where Hope was last seen, the two found each other, by themselves! So, with a little help, they were actually able to have a natural' reunion!! The crying on the part of those involved is audible along with the desperate crying of little Hope as she finds her mom on the amazing reunion video clip!
I will take some pictures of my site here later, after I get myself together and have another cup of coffee. As Cedar mentioned, this is one whale of a perfect day to use a snow day! Four whole days of beautiful, summer-like freedom now!
http://www.bear.org/website/lily-a-hope ... n-cam.html
Link to read about the bears, if you are intersted. Don't miss the reunion video clip found under Lily and Hope menu! And today's research update is so heart-lifting.
I am in the beauiful, heavily wooded KOA campsite in Wilmington, NY, and it's glorious here! I left with black flies nearly obscuring my vision as I unhooked my lifelines and hitched up for the trip around the mountain to my favorite site here in the park, to a totally bugless environment over here! I don't even have to leave my screen door shut over here. The difference is that Wilmington has for years used BTI, a powder insecticide applied to water where the larvae of black flies and mosquitos live, and which has NO detrimental effects on any other water creatures. The few years that my community ageed to be the guinea pigs for the use of this amazing chemical, my property was one of the ones in the study. That year we had almost NO black flies and the mosquito population was way down. But it costs money, and my little town seems to think it's not worth it. Perhaps it is fitting that we don't do it, as the early birds who come there to raise their summer families probably need that source of protein. But what fun to be able to sit out around a campfire and not get constantly bitten.
My alarm went off at its usual 4:30 time this morning, as I had forgotten to turn it off! I shut it off then and rolled over, not to wake again until 8:30! Guess I needed that sleep time!
Then I went to the office to pay up for my stay, as I arrived too late last night to do that. And then, of course, I immediately got online (free, strong WiFi) to check on Lily and Hope. I was very pleasantly rewarded to see that the two of them are back as if they were never apart. So, for the nay sayers who said that Lynn and Sue should not have interfered with 'Nature,' they have now been able to dispell old beliefs that a mother bear will not take back her cubs if she has been apart from them. And we learned that a 4-month old cub, if not sick, (and this was a conjecture as to why Lily possibly left Hope) can indeed survive on its own for over 5 days with no milk from its mother, and no care. Much was learned about bear behavior, and, of course, about the compassion of human beings whose main job is science, but who cannot help their 'nature' to save a beloved creature. I hadn't realized until this morning when I read the latest update that Hope had escaped from the cat carrier she was put in a whole HOUR earlier than the reunion! The dispair on the part of those trying to bring baby and mother together must have been terrible. But, then by luring Lily to where Hope was last seen, the two found each other, by themselves! So, with a little help, they were actually able to have a natural' reunion!! The crying on the part of those involved is audible along with the desperate crying of little Hope as she finds her mom on the amazing reunion video clip!
I will take some pictures of my site here later, after I get myself together and have another cup of coffee. As Cedar mentioned, this is one whale of a perfect day to use a snow day! Four whole days of beautiful, summer-like freedom now!
http://www.bear.org/website/lily-a-hope ... n-cam.html
Link to read about the bears, if you are intersted. Don't miss the reunion video clip found under Lily and Hope menu! And today's research update is so heart-lifting.
