Weekend reading

I spent some time this week bear watching at Katmai Nation Park in Alaska. I wish I could tell you I was there in person, but having those webcams is almost as good for this arm chair traveller. This year has seen record numbers of sockeye and silver salmon travel up the Brooks River, which attracted more bears who use the resource to help them survive a long winter. The water level was higher this year too. There were new adult bears seen, quite a few mothers with spring cubs and the remains one of the older bears were found near the river which had everyone speculating about what happened to him. But now it's coming to a close and instead of seeing most of the bears catching fish at the falls, we're seeing them at the mouth of the river too. They scavenge around floating through the water casually catching dead and dying fish. It's natures way of cleaning up after the fish return to the place of their birth to die, completing their life cycle. I never tire of watching the unscripted, day-to-day activities of the bears play out in front of the cameras. In the next month, as the weather gets colder and the bears reach their maximum weight, they'll start leaving the falls and move up to higher ground where they'll dig a new den and settle in for the winter. We'll see them again in June 2017.

Thanks for your visits and comments this week. I love seeing new readers here as well as older readers who return every day (for years). Have a good weekend, friends. I'll see you next week.

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• Seven ways to prepare for death that will instantly improve your life
• Leaving heart and home: when your house of memories becomes someone else's
• Fasten your seat belt – turbulence is on the rise
• Brisbane local food
• How to make your own flavour-infused sea salt
• Why I choose to have less choice
• How Charles Darwin used rest to be more productive — and how you can, too
• Heather at Beauty that Moves is having a Whole Foods Freezer Workshop starting early October. It looks like such a helpful way for new cooks, and those who need help organising food, to gain the valuable skill of freezing wholesome food. There's even a virtual classroom on Facebook but then Heather is a seasoned workshop presenter so I'm sure all avenues are covered.
• Pip Magazine, Australia's permaculture magazine, has a Down to Earth flavoured subscription offer. Look here for the offer, then check out the rest of the magazine.

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