Too Hot for Furries!

Lots of people have been enjoying the summer but when you have fur all over, like us bears, it is not at all pleasant.  We have spent most of the last few weeks indoors, in a cool corner of the living room near the north-facing window reading quietly, although we did stow away when Polar and Grizzly went to stay with friends. 

I helped Hanley and Endon to get into their bags, then sneaked into the boot of the car when they were packing, but it was so hot in there during the long journey south that I had to shout for some water and make sure the other bears were let out of the luggage.

'You silly little bears!' said Polar, sitting us on the back seat. and giving us a drink.  'You could have suffocated in the boot.'

Unfortunately, the reason we were supposed to stay at home was that our human guardians' friends, while very kind to their humans friends, aren't keen on furry friends.  This meant that while Polar and Grizzly had some interesting days out in the Hampshire countryside, we didn't get to go out with them.  At least we didn't have to travel home in the boot.

We had hoped we would be enjoying some summer boat journeys, but the long. hot spell has left the local canals rather short of water. The hot weather hasn't been too good for the garden either, although Polar and Grizzly have worked hard to keep the vegetable plot watered, as well as the plants in pots, like these lilies. 

We were pleased to see some rain today.  Yesterday, we helped to pick some fresh food for us and our humans, including courgettes, broad beans, raspberries and runner beans. 

We were particularly proud of the broad beans as we helped to plant those in the spring.  We do like to have fresh food to eat!  

We were hoping that the tomatoes would be ripe, but they are still green.  Endon climbed up to check.  When he got down, his paws were all green from the tomato plants!

Out in the garden, we saw lots of other things growing.

'Why are these cabbages in cages?' we asked Polar, peering through some mesh at some plants.  'Will they escape if you don't keep them inside these nets?'

'They are sprouts,' she said.  'The nets are to keep the butterflies off.  They lay their eggs on the leaves, and these hatch into little caterpillars which eat them.'

'Boo!' said Hanley Bear, who is very fond of sprouts.

Endon Bear's climbing skills proved very useful when we came to harvest the runner beans.  Some of them were even too high for Polar to reach, so Endon scaled the poles and carefully pulled off the highest ripe beans, leaving the small ones to grow.

'We might need Endon's help to harvest the hazel nuts soon,' said Grizzly, pointing to a big tree by the greenhouse.

Us bears didn't know there were nuts in the garden.  They are one of our favourite foods so, when it is dry, we will have to sneak out and see if they are ripe yet!