Tony wants his photograph taken

Tony getting too close to the camera, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Tony wants his photograph taken and he wants it taken NOW! He got bored while Paul fiddled with the buttons on the camera, and Tony decided to see what he could see through the lens.

Tighnabruach and the Kyles of Bute

Kyles of Bute, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Bev and the Nice Lady were keen to visit Tighnabruaich, as that is where the Nice Lady's mum and Bev's gran used to go on holiday. The village of Tighnabruaich is in Argyll, situated on the east coast of Loch Fyne, and is a very pretty village indeed. We walked along the beach and had a lovely lunch sitting outside in the warm sunshine..

The road was narrow and twisty, but we all got fantastic views out over the Kyles of Bute, which is a narrow strip of sea separating the Island of Bute from the Scottish mainland. In this photograph, the Island of Bute is on the right, and the mainland is on the left - only 300m separates them. The Waverley Steamer and other ferries visit piers on both Bute and the coast, with one calling in at Tighnabruaich.

What a great day out we had - the weather was warm and bright, and the scenery was magnificent!

Bill is in love!

Bill is in love, though the object of his affection is too young to know it yet!  Meet Anori, the half-sister of the famous polar bear, Knut.  She is so cute and cuddly at the moment!  Bill is now making plans for us to visit Anori and her mum Wilma in Germany.

Find out more about Anori and see more adorable photographs at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2122888/Meet-new-Knut-Zoo-crowds-wowed-tragic-polar-bear-s-sister-whisper-cuter.html

Spring has finally sprung!

Spring has finally sprung!, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Bev took this photograph of daffodils to show that spring is finally here! The weather in March has been incredibly warm, with temperatures up to 20C and higher! However, snow is forecast for next week, just in time for Easter :-(

Dr Dre Studio headphones - in bright orange!

Ok, as I've mentioned before, Bev really is a gadget girl and drools over the latest technologies.  Last Christmas she bought an eReader, and this Christmas she instantly fell in love with nephew Ashley's bright green Dr Dre's Studio headphones.  They looked gorgeous and the sound was to die for.  So, the first opportunity she got, she headed off to the shops to look for a pair of Dr Dre's shiny headphones in a bright colour.  And several hours later she returned from her terrible shopping experience (more of that later) with a pair of beautiful orange headphones.

So, having listened to hours and hours of music through her new headphones, what is Bev's verdict?  Are they an expensive gimmick, as some people suggest or are they as good as Dr Dre says they are?
The good points:

• these headphones have a very punchy bass, with rich overall sound which is ideal for all types of music.  Paul said he felt the headphones were too bassy, but that can be fixed by changing the settings on your iPod.  
• the headphones fold up and fit in a case, which is part of the kit you get when you buy the headphones
• the headphones claim to be noise-cancelling - well, they're not completely noise-cancelling like the Sennheiser portable headphones that Bev already has, but they are not bad
• the colours, which are beautiful - the limited range comes in a bright green, orange, purple, pink, white, silver, black and blue.

The bad points:

• cost - these are not cheap, but we think they are worth the money, especially when you can get them in such groovy colours!
• there is quite a bit of sound leakage, so Bev couldn't listen to them at work unless all her co-workers want to listen to Biffy Clyro too :-)
• batteries - some people might be irritated by the fact that you need 2 x AAA batteries to make these headphones work, but they are needed for amplification and noise cancellation.  Since most noise-cancellation phones use batteries, Bev isn't put off by this at all, though she is off to the shops to bulk-buy AAA batteries!
• the build - some people say they think the build quality is a bit flimsy, however they seem fairly robust to us, but who knows how they'll stand up to use by a group of bears with long claws and no opposable thumbs!

So, to sum up, Bev would give these headphones a 9/10 for sound quality, portability and colour!  She's reserving judgement on the build quality until she's used them more.

Spectacular sunrise!

The sun coming through the clouds, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

The sunrises have been amazing recently - this was taken at the end of October on a misty morning. Luckily, the sun is coming up much later these days, so Bev is up and ready with the camera while us little bears snore our heads off and dream of a scrummy brunch :-)

Phoebe does "Halloween"

Phoebe does "Halloween", a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Phoebe has dressed up for Halloween, wearing Tony's skull and crossbones hat and matching orange top. She thinks it makes her look scary but we think the outfit just makes her look cute. Who could find Phoebe scary, especially with those beautiful ears poking out the side of her woolly hat?

Tony checking out a Matchless bike

Tony checking out a Matchless bike, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

When Tony got his new biker jacket, we took him over to see Paul's brother, Ian. Ian has two motorbikes, and Tony wanted to try them out before buying a bike for himself. Here he is sitting on Ian's Matchless bike. Oh dear, he'll need to grow a bit before he can ride a bike like that, or he'll have to get one where his feet reach the pedals!

Tony modelling the back of his new biker jacket

Tony modelling his new biker jacket and boots, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Here is Tony modelling the back of his new biker jacket - he loves the Harley-Davidson logo!

Tony the "cool" chimp

Tony the "cool" chimp, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Here is Tony modelling his new biker jacket from eBay - with his sunglasses, new bumper boots and jacket, he thinks he looks a very cool dude!

Kitty looking ultra-cute!

Kitty, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

When Bev got home from work last night, Kitty was snoozing on the bed and looking adorable, as usual. His green eyes were particularly spectacular, so Bev took some photographs to show everyone just how adorable he is!

The bears and Tony enjoy the warm weather

Teddy Bears' Picnic, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Us bears and Tony went to Ashridge Park for a picnic as the weather has been so warm and sunny. We took sandwiches, lashings of ginger beer, a box of profiteroles and crisps - scrummy! We then had a snooze before playing in the woods!

Tony at the Natural History Museum - spot the new boots!

Tony at the Natural History Museum - spot the new boots!, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Female Southern Hawker at Ashridge Park

Female Southern Hawker at Ashridge Park, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Paul took this amazing photograph at Ashridge Park. We thought dragonflies were kinda cute, but this one is the ugliest bug we have ever seen! Hopefully a dragonfly's idea of beauty is different from ours, otherwise she'll never get a boyfriend!

Tony climbing trees in Ashridge Park

Tony climbing trees in Ashridge Park, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Tony had another day out with us bears this week - today was at Ashridge Park in Buckinghamshire. We had a picnic, then played in the woods and climbed the trees.
Here is Tony up a tree - he got into trouble for scuffing the toes of his new bumper boots, though Paul says he thinks they can be cleaned and repaired!

Tony and his new friend!

Tony and his new friend!, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Tony made a new friend at the Natural History Museum today.  Tony and Mr Darwin had a long chat about the origin of the species and natural selection, with Tony explaining to Mr Darwin how he had evolved from a stuffed toy into a trend-setting, fashion-conscious, boot-wearing chimp!

Meet the Family!

Meet the Family!, a photo by Bev & Paul Mynott on Flickr.

Tony visited the Natural History Museum with Bev & Paul this week so that he could see some of his relatives. But wasn't impressed - what a grumpy and scary-looking lot they are! He's glad he lives with us bears, Bev & Paul as we always have lots of fun.

Visitors to the Lodge

We have discovered that we are not alone - in the Lodge, that is, not in the universe, though we suspect we are not alone there either!   Yes, we are sharing our cottage with ladybirds - lots of them - and they are kinda cute but very small, though Bev managed to get a photograph of one which made it look scarily huge!

So, how many people know that ladybirds liked cheese?  And if they do, does cheese taste like aphids?  Bev spotted our little ladybird on the kitchen table and took a photograph as it nibbled on crumbs of cheese.

Mad woman!

Is Bev mad or what?  Picture the scene - lovely sunrise, early morning, mist on the ground.  So what does she do?  Yup, puts a sweatshirt on over her nightdress, goes out into the field with her camera and takes lots of photographs!  Luckily we have no neighbours here on the farm, otherwise they would be telling Paul that his wife was a bit eccentric, wandering around in a nightdress, old sweatshirt and even older slippers!

Eccentric she might be, but she can spot a pretty photograph!

Sunrise over the fields outside the Lodge (Gamekeeper's, not Masonic!) :-)

Sunrise over the fields near the house.

Sunrise  from the cottage.

Beautiful scenery

Our temporary accommodation - The Gamekeeper's Lodge - is situated beside some woods and in the midst of green rolling hills.  The location is just beautiful!  We are at least a mile from the nearest road, so if we forget the milk we will need to russle a cow from one of the fields - we'd never make it to the nearest shop on our little legs!
Bev was delighted with our first evening here, as there was a glorious sunset for her to photograph.
















Bev is currently studying for an exam in early March but once she has finished she is looking forward to photographing more scenes like this, and taking shots of us bears out and about round the farm!