After the re-location for my husband’s career, making friends wasn’t simple for me. Our teenaged son and daughter immediately enjoyed school and social groups through sports and clubs. I wondered when I’d feel a sense of belonging. One day, I was invited to a monthly dinner for moms in my new neighborhood, being a substitute for a woman who couldn’t attend. When hiking came up, I just played along.

The next day, I got up early and styled my hair. I left it a little messy, so it didn’t look like I had tried too hard. When I arrived a little early, one of the other three women was standing there waiting. She hugged me cheerfully. When the others joined us, we naturally broke into two groups of two and walked rapidly along the sidewalk to the base of the mountain in North Glendale. I was a little out of breath before we even started going uphill.

We hiked and talked about our families, jobs, and dogs. They continued to invite me to hike on Saturday mornings and to join them for birthday lunches and couples’ nights. Over the years, we hugged and laughed over broken-down cars, broken hearts, and even the complexities of the worldwide situations, though they had nothing to do with our lives.

Recently, nine years after that first hike, my husband and daughter put together a surprise birthday dinner for me. My hiking friends were among the first invited. At the party, they sat close to me all evening, even though we’d been together twice in the previous week, on a hike and at another event.

By accepting the invitation to hike, I stretched myself, and made amazing new friends. I still enjoy hiking with them, and I imagine I will always remain connected to these lovely women who enveloped me in their circle. I also feel confident that there are some other hikers, who I’ll come to love simply by agreeing to try something new.

Whether it be a person, an animal, or even an insect, a mother’s instincts (本能) are never wrong. This idea rings true for a mother cat who acted fast and sought out help when her kittens were in trouble. This mother cat’s quick thinking may have just saved her babies.

In the urban district of Izmir in western Turkey, a cat walked into a regular hospital bolding a kitten in her mouth. As the mother cat moved through the hospital, people were surprised to see such a sight, but let her pass. The mother cat asked for help, crying for a long time. She was familiar to the hospital staff, who had been leaving her food and water outside, but they were unaware that she had given birth to kittens.

The mother cat was concerned for her young because they weren’t able to open their eyes. After the doctors looked at the kittens, they noticed that they were suffering from eye infections. One of the doctors recalls, “We consulted with vets (兽医) and gave medicine as described. When the kittens opened their eyes a short time later, we were excited.” Later, they were sent to an animal hospital for further care. The cats are now up for adoption and will hopefully find loving forever homes.

When it comes to mother cats and kittens, kittens completely depend on mothers for the first few months of their lives. Because they are blind and almost deaf until about two or three weeks old, the mother cat must protect them from any threat or danger. Without the mother cat’s help, the kittens may not make it to adulthood.

As shown by the mother cat in Turkey, a mother’s love and protection knows no bounds. Whether the mom is a human or a cat, mothers will always look out for their babies and make sure they are safe and healthy.

I was telling a Londoner recently about the North Yorkshire coast. “I really must go one day,” she said, sounding uncertain. “But we’ve already booked for Mexico next year — we’re going whale-watching.”

Sean Baxter, a fisherman, has been encouraging me to search whales out for years. This was another reason why I failed to mention the Yorkshire whale: I had never seen them myself. How could Yorkshire ever compete with famous places such as: Kaikoura, Anacortes and Isle St Marie? Baxter was sure that it could. There was only one way to test it out.

We went in September, accompanied by wildlife guide Richard Baines. No birds escaped his eye. For Baxter, though, the birds had added value. “They will lead us to the whales.”

The waves drew us towards deeper water. I was looking at every shadow in the water, but found nothing. An instant later, a great black minke whale (小须鲸) burst upwards for a breath, and then it went down. The whole sequence (连续动作) lasted only a second.

“That’s a young whale,” shouted Baxter. “He will do that three times — watch out over there.”

We waited and waited, but the creature remained below. My excitement died down gradually and I was sure our moment had gone. Then, half an hour later, the whale came up again. Now, it was racing towards the boat. “He’s going under us,” shouted Baxter. I could see it clearly. I'm sure it was taking a good look at our boat and its crew (船员). Then it went down.

As the hours went by, I became familiar with the ways of different whales. Some swam purposefully, ignoring the boat; others rose higher in the water. The young would rush over, like puppies, keen (热切的) to play. I felt as if I had discovered an intelligent alien from space living at the end of my garden. Now I'm hooked (着迷的); I can't wait to get out there again. Maybe I will get lucky and see more whales.