Hi everybody! My name is Alex and this is my first post for the NRBO Life blog. This week there have been three main aspects that have stood out as more prominent than the usual day to day jobs and tasks of cooking, cleaning, looking after guests etc.
The first of such is the much anticipated new Heligoland trap. This large structure has been particuarly interesting to me from a 'non-birding' perspective: upon first inspection, to me the structure resembled an over-large rabbit hutch, however, due to the prevailing and widespread animosity on the island towards these animals for the negative effect they have upon bird populations and plantation growth, I relatively quickly ascertained that these were not in fact hutches, but an enclosure for the ever growing puppies!... I was further saved from embarassment after overhearing that they were in fact bird traps used for ringing purposes and named after the pioneer trap was erected in Heligoland, Germany.
The new trap, with the other two traps and Gretchen Loch in the background.
The second thing that springs to mind is the departure of the first of the puppies. This puppy, already named Harley, was one of my favorites, having distinct brown eyebrows that gave him a constant look of mild suprise. However sad to see one go, It also could be said that it was about time for this to happen: the growth rate of the bunch has not seemed to slow down and these now stocky and increasingly beefy individuals have been creating a somewhat undesirable sight for anyone having the misfortune of seeing, first thing in the morning, the dog house/shoe & wellie porch. Added to this, they have now accomplished the feat of escaping from their outside enclosure and running amok around the driveway and gardens/under landrover wheels!
However, all this havoc has still remained very much endearing, and very much a highlight for many of the guests, including my own mum, sister and father who have been staying up here this week and had to have all of their bags checked thouroughly when one of the puppies had gone tempoarily missing towards the end of their stay here. Needless to say, upon inspection they had not attempted to smuggle a puppy and he did infact turn up somewhere behind a bush.
The final thing that I am going to write about today is the mysterious 'Chilli Bandit'. Chilli Con Carne (a firm favorite among both guests and residents) night was on monday. On this occasion the Chilli Bandit made their first strike - a mysterious and unknown figure happened to hot things up a bit more than usual by slying extra chilli into the dish while nobody was watching, rendering it eye-wateringly hot to anything with a tearduct. Needless to say, all fingers were pointed towards Rick, the obvious choice due to his abnormal tolerance towards the chilli fruit, but the defendant has, however, pleaded not guilty continually and therefore the best we can do is keep our eyes beady for a repeat offence.
Apart from the things mentioned above, everything is all in good order and running smoothly, other than a missing member of the team - sadly, Beth's stay came to and end at the beginning of the week and she has therefore retired from her post as general helper/keeping her brother Rick in check/being top banoffee pie consumer and is a missed member of the team!
Anyway, until next week! Goodbye!
Chilli Bandits? There was me thinking the crew at the Obs had formed a rock band, but no, it's an edition of 'You've been framed'. It won't be long before "Rick is innocent" is written in 6 foot high letters in the sand of Nouster Bay. And protesters dressed as Mexicans are chaining themselves to Heligoland traps.
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