Weekend Reading

Hello everyone. I had a good break and feel better for it. I did a lot of thinking while I was away, it's amazing how clearly you focus when you're sitting outside in the fresh air with birds swooping by. I've decided to use Instagram as the main tool to communicate with you. It's faster, so I won't spend too much time online, and the passing traffic there is much greater than here.  

Gracie is doing her afternoon checks here.  She's watching the chooks in the first photo and then she moves closer to the creek to make sure no bush turkeys are about to storm the fences. 

Don't worry, I won't be closing the blog down. It will be here for you to access for as long as you like, and I'll continue Weekend Reading most Fridays.  I have a strong emotional attachment to this blog, it's been going for over 13 years and I've poured my heart and soul into it. However, it does take quite an effort and time to take photos and write interesting posts and I don't have the energy to sustain it to the extent I once did.  

I hope you'll continue to read Weekend Reading and occasionally pop into IG to say hello and tell me your news.

My IG account is #rhondahetzel  or click on any of the photos in the Instagram box in the right sidebar and it will take you to my IG account.

🧡~🤎~💛~💚~💙~💜~🖤~❤️

• Birdwatching increased tenfold last lockdown. Don't stop, it's a huge help for bushfire recovery
• See Science fly
• This looks delicious: Vegan recipe for crispy fried rice with cucumber, peanut and herb salad
• I may be an old woman but I'm not done for yet
• Handiwork: 'The act of writing a letter changes the way you communicate completely'
• Those of you who know me will probably remember that one of the highlights of my year is to watch the brown bears at Katmai National Park in Alaska. The salmon start arriving on the June solstice and the bears are in the river waiting for them. They then gorge themselves enough to be able to hibernate over winter. It's a wonderful spectacle although you have to remember, this is real and sometimes sad things happen. Two days ago we were all in a flap because a mother with three cubs lost one of them and he was not recovered. Overall though, it's a wonderful insight into the natural world and even after watching it for a few years - from June to October - I still feel very lucky to be able to do it.  This is a highlight film featuring the bears in all four seasons.  If you want to watch the bears live, just scroll down and choose the live camera you want to watch, then save the page so you can go back. 
• Reality bites: how the pandemic changed the way we eat
• Not Amish, not English
• Be a citizen scientist: track plastic waste, spot a spider monkey or beat coronavirus
• From crafts to board games, everything old is new again
• Ham hock terrine  My parents used to make something similar to this when I was young, they called it brawn. This one looks absolutely delicious.