Surfin’: Beyond Bonaire -- It Was Like Magic

This week, Surfin’ can’t get enough of that listening to the radio (AM and shortwave) back when The Beatles were still making music.

Number 49

I assume it was the black bear tagged 49 that visited us on Saturday evening.

I was watching the news, then the screen went blank, and we lost the signal from the Dish Network satellite. That had never happened before, so I went outside to see if the dish had fallen off the roof.

It was in place, but as I was going back indoors, I hear my neighbors shouting to other neighbors, “There’s a bear in your yard!”

I did not see a bear, but the bird bath was knocked over and I didn’t do it.

By the way, I stopped feeding the birds after the last bear visit two weeks ago. I will resume feeding them when the snow flies.

Surfin’: Missing the Netherlands Antilles

This week, Surfin’ waxes nostalgically about Bonaire and the dissolved Netherlands Antilles.

Surfin’: Connecting the Dots between Gutenberg and Uncle Bill

This week, Surfin’ reaffirms that the Internet is indeed a wonderful thing.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

Late Sunday afternoon, I joined my harmonic and her boyfriend on a hike through the woods around our premises. We went on a trek that they had done before, but some of it was new to me.

About 30 minutes into the hike, they showed me a huge outcropping of quartz. I have seen small outcroppings in our neck of the woods before, but nothing like this.

In addition to the mountain of quartz, there were shards of loose quartz in a variety of sizes scattered throughout the area. Some of the pieces were sharp (I have a small puncture wound on my hand to prove it). Some of it looked like rock candy. I had never seen anything like it before.

The photo shows me on the side of “big rock candy mountain” taking it all in.

Bear

A bear visited the premises two days in a row last week.

Overnight Tuesday-Wednesday, the bear knocked over the compost bin and bird bath, ripped open the suet cage and ate its contents, and opened the bird feeder and ate its contents.

I was impressed by the bear’s strength. In the process of opening the bird feeder, the bear bent a loop of iron rod that holds up the feeder (see photo). The loop is now almost a straight line of rod that I cannot bend back into shape using my bare hands (pun intended). I will have to use a vise and some tools to reloop it.

Overnight Wednesday-Thursday, the bear showed up again and pushed the garbage can cart about ten feet down the driveway, removed the lid on one of the cans, but did not disturb the bag of garbage in the can.

Go figure. Maybe something scared it off before it could get into the garbage.

There was no visual sighting of the bear in either case. The accompanying photo is from a bear visit in early August.

Surfin’: Still Finding Where the Hams Are

This week, Surfin’ checks out more online applications that reveal where the hams are in your neck of the woods.

Surfin’: Finding Where the Hams Are

This week, Surfin’ checks out a cool Google Maps application that reveals where the hams are in your burg.