I won’t keep you long tonight. I just have a couple of quick updates from the nature channel. We have, as you know, lived here for ten years but we still don’t have a really definitive indicator of what kind of herring season we will have.

Years ago, and I can’t remember if it was the last good herring season or not, we had hundreds and I mean hundreds of seals show up in the waters in front of our house. Tiny little seal heads bobbing in the waters below our house. It was before we had a deck or good camera for accurate documentation but we both remember the sight of them…

We have commented over the years that though we may have heard lots of seals and sea lions barking, feeding and travelling, during the night, over the years, they have never hung around long enough to sleep here. Even the year of the good herring run. They have often camped out on the reef in front of my friend’s house on the other side of the island, but she moved last year so maybe we are their second choice. ‘Cause this morning as the sun rose and I went to pour a cup of coffee and look out the window there were little grey lumps on the rocks below the house.

After listening to their barking, snorting and belching all night long, it was a nice treat to actually see their smiling faces in the light of day.

This brings us to the question on everyone’s mind. Just what is the type of bird who has brought her two babies to our front doorway. We have had two of our most learned friends confirm it is, in fact, a Bewick Wren. The blue tinge now visible on their feathers helped in the identification. The upside of these little cuties is that they eat spiders and spider eggs

I am able to illustrate for you today as an example of a perfect day for me living here…

– Up at five, drink pot of coffee. – – – Take camera out onto the back deck in the dark to try to catch the baby birds above our door before they head out to their daytime activities. – Make second pot of coffee and look out the window as the sun rises. – see seals at the cut, take camera down to the waters edge to take pictures. – accomplish little else all day.

For all our benefit, let us just hope that the abundance of seals and, theoretically, seal food is indicative of a good herring season

on its way