First published 17th February, 2022

“The sound of birdsong fills the warm, spring-like air today. Ecobears Arc & Berry Scout are with Bree the rabbit & Tilda the hedgehog by the canal’s edge. The group have spotted a pair of toads in the shallow waters next to the wall of the canal. The toads are quite large, with the female being bigger than the male. Both are shades of greens and browns in colour – with small bumpy lumps on their skin. Arc explains to his friends that these ‘Bufo’ toads are mating and spawning. The female may lay up to 8,000 eggs in the two strings, streaming in the water. The bears and friends will have to wait two or three weeks to see the eggs develop into tadpoles.

Meanwhile, ecobear Baby Bear Rosa is with Marlie & Zana the rabbit in the garden – helping to make pawmade objects for their home. So far, Marlie has created a rustic wooden key holder for the kitchen. Zana is making some beautiful round wooden place mats for the dining table. As she varnishes them, the tree rings begin to stand out more and more. Baby Bear Rosa, although supposed to be helping with these endeavours, is having lots of fun playing with some heart shaped pebbles she collected from her recent beach trip…”