Surprise in the Sink

One morning in Bulgaria we woke up to find this in our bathroom sink.

To be fair, we should give you a sense of proportion - he was really quite small. There were a number of venomous creatures in our village in Bulgaria - snakes, spiders, centipedes, and our frequent visitors, these tiny scorpions. We're not sure how Gwendolyn managed it, but she sailed though many near encounters unscathed. We're writing these post several weeks later, after returning to Germany, and we are very happy to report that she is still safe, sound and scorpion-sting-free.

Pool

Many of our days in Tabachka were really hot. Gwendolyn had a great time cooling off in the whale pool at the station.

We had a great time joining her.

Often she was not the only one attracted to the water on a hot day. Here's a rhinoceros beetle that she spotted and rescued (okay - the rescue was mostly her parents' idea).

The Wren Loves Her Dad

Enough said.

Nanin Kamak Cave

The beginning of August found us on another bat catching expedition, this time to Nanin Kamak Cave, near the Romanian border.

This was a great spot for two of the species we were looking for, and we caught enough bats to keep us busy testing all night long.


In between bats, Gwendolyn occupied herself lounging in the grass with Patty and Toni.

Sampling apples.

And practicing simultaneous clapping and standing.

But even nocturnal babies must eventually go to sleep. I love this photo of Gwendolyn and David curled up together on camping mats.

And here is Gwendolyn as the sun came up. We waited until the last minute to wake her up.

When we finally did wake her to drive home, she seemed a little sleepy but not in the least surprised to find that she had slept in a field under the stars and not in our cozy bed at home. It's a strange mobile upbringing we're giving her...

Corn on the Cob

Many nights in Bulgaria we would eat dinner outside in the garden.

Note Gwendolyn in the bottom right of this photo. Her first introduction to corn on the cob.

She didn't seem to know quite what to do at first.

But in characteristic Gwendolyn fashion, dived right in anyway. It's amazing what nine teeth can do!

Alphabet Magnets

Among Sam and Jess's great birthday gifts was a set of refrigerator magnets.

Gwendolyn took immediate interest, although at first she seemed more intent on chewing on them than putting them on the fridge (that painful back molar!). Her dad did what he could to show her how they worked.

Here she is a few days later, having really figured it out.

Don't let this sweet, well-mannered look deceive! This photo was taken at the height of Gwendolyn fussiness. It's hard to remember now what was exactly what was going on (pain from the new tooth? a nap long overdue?), but I am sure that the spelling on the fridge was an expression of true parental frustration: Gwendolyn the Fuss!

Nine Teeth!

With the entrance of her 9th tooth (and this was a hard one, her bottom right molar - accompanied by much fussing), we decided it was time to buy the Wren her first toothbrush.

She inspected it with some skepticism at first.

And was a little averse to my demonstration.

But soon embraced her new toothbrushing routine with great earnestness and dedication.

Clap, Clap, Squint Face!

Day at the Beach

As soon as day broke, the beach began filling up. Here's our party, from far to near: Patty, Sara, Mike, Tess.

And of course, Gwendolyn Wren, seen here plying her dad for food.

After a hearty breakfast of bread and watermelon, we thought the Wren might be ready to try the water.

She has been loving her morning baths in Leyla Stefka's garden, so we thought she might enjoy the sea.

Not so. She was very tentative, very clingy, and very glad to be out again.

She instead spend much of the afternoon like this - happily playing under an umbrella, hiding out from the hot sun.

And here we are several hours later - hot, tired, and happy - the end of a beautiful trip to the beach.

Night at the Beach

Gwendolyn has a great children's book called "Bats at the Beach." When all the daytime beach goers disappear, the bats arrive with their picnics, their beach toys and their bathing suits. So it was for us. After we released the bats at Shumen, we continued east, arriving at the Black Sea coast after midnight. After sitting out under the stars, drinking wine and watching for meteors (Gwendolyn asleep across my lap), we climbed into our tents for the night.

A few short hours later, Gwendolyn was awakened by the sunrise and was ready to climb out and investigate.

Her first encounter with sand, her first shell!

Her reaction? Delight!

Until this moment. Mouthful of sand. Bound to happen. But she took it pretty well.

As we explored the beach, the others continued to sleep.

Here's David stretched out in the tent without us - oh the joy of a few moments of uninterrupted sleep!

Releasing Bats

Midway through the field season, we returned to the beech forests at the Shumensku Plateau to release the bats we had finished working with.

When we first introduced Gwendolyn to bats in the lab in Germany, she was not at all interested. We're not even sure she registered them as living beings.

But during our time in Bulgaria, she began to show extreme interest.

After releasing bats in Shumen, we headed to Varna. We were all quite hungry, and stopped at a restaurant for dinner. To everyone's amusement, Gwendolyn's newly found interest in wildlife seemed to be equaled - alright, surpassed - by her interest in her dad's chicken kebab.

I'm pretty sure that at that moment, David shared the sentiment.