Nature is a flutter here in western Bethel. Yesterday I saw three baby woodchucks who are living in a large sluice/drainage pipe that is very close to the Otto vegetable garden. Truth be told, too close for comfort. Time to put out some talcum powder and other anti-woodchuck deterrents. Yesterday I saw two fawns on Pucky Huddle Road with their moms. We have baby foxes living on Pucky Huddle Road.  I understand that there are both grey foxes and red foxes around. We have baby Eastern wrens in a wren house on the Otto front porch. People are reporting numerous bear sightings.  Yours truly watched the bear in this photo walk up the hill behind the Otto residence on Saturday, June 1st, around 8:30 p.m. I had just removed the hummingbird feeder.  I knew that the bear was going to come up the back deck.  I waited for the right moment and snapped an awesome bear photo. People think the bear weighs between 350 and 400 pounds.  Scars on his nozzle. He had visited the Otto residence a few months ago.  I watched him meander over to the compost pile. He stood up and scratched his back.  It is mating season, and the bear was marking his territory.

I consider myself to be a bit of a junior birder.  Last month, I had a pair of Baltimore Orioles check out the Otto bird feeder for about one hour.  Same thing last year.  Just a one-hour visit, even though I had oranges out on my deck.  Meanwhile, neighbor Peggy Slater still has numerous Baltimore Orioles. Why?  Grape Jelly.  So next year, I will put out the grape jelly at the same time I put out the cut oranges.

How do you kill a professional sport? Do what Major League Baseball does. My husband is an avid Yankee fan. We don’t have a smart television and Ray has a flip phone. There are nights that you cannot watch the Yankees.  You can try and watch the Yankees on MLB network (for a fee), but there are insane black out rules. The Yankees are 100 miles away. Crazy! YES network seems to care more about soccer than baseball.

 I am not ready for AI (Artificial Intelligence).  It appears however that AI is already here taking over my cellphone and computer.

There is a Republican Primary this month.  Early voting starts on June 15th. June 25th is the “normal” election day. Registered Republicans only. There are two candidates running for the 100th Assembly District race, that Aileen Gunther has held for almost 20 years now.

Turtles are still crossing the roads, trying to lay eggs. The DEC has a wonderful magazine called the New York State Conservationist.  The June/July 2024 edition of the NYS Conservationist says the following:

“Turtles are known to exhibit site fidelity to locations, such as overwintering spots, and females will often return to the same nesting areas year after year, but some do switch sites with differing regularity.  Snapping turtles typically lay eggs between late-May to July, with peak nesting season occurring in June. Incubation takes on average 75 to 90 days and hatchlings generally emerge from nests between August and October. Snapping turtles are omnivores, eating both plants and animals and have an extremely varied diet, consuming almost anything they can fit in their mouth. Nest and hatchling predation can be quite high for turtles and, in some years, most if not all nests are destroyed (raccoons, skunks and foxes). For those that successfully hatch, survival does increase with assize and age, and snapping turtles can live on average 30 to 40 years.”

Warren Brey’s Memorial service will be held at the Kenoza Lake United Methodist church on Saturday afternoon, June 22nd.  

The Bethel Council for the Arts has an exhibit of the famous Pucky Huddle Roadhouse which fell on Easter Sunday. The Bethel Council for the Arts is in Kauneonga Lake, right across from the Kauneonga Lake Firehouse.  Great exhibit!

Full moon, Friday, June 21st, Strawberry Moon. The first full moon of the summer. If you love strawberries, check out Matt Burns’ fruit and vegetable stand, off Gale Road and Lieutenant Brender Highway, in Eastern Bethel off Route 17B, Mongaup Valley. Matt has delicious strawberries for sale.