8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD TuESDAY, AuguST 25, 2020 COFFEE BREAK Girl’s tantrums stymie man’s relationship with her mother DEAR ABBY: I have met the most remarkable woman, but after eight months of serious dating, I have realized that she has the worst and most manipu- lating 10-year-old daughter ever. She constantly claims sickness, and now even mental health issues like anxiety and panic disorder, although they have never been formally diag- nosed, to prevent her mother and me from having time together. Immediately after her mother agrees to her daughter’s request and lets her get her way, the kid becomes happy and energetic, and goes back to playing. (I feel she is laughing in my face.) The numerous cancellations and tan- trums are very upsetting, and it hurts my feelings when the person I love most in the world sets me aside. I had considered proposing marriage. I have a 13- and 17-year-old DEAR who are both respectful, energetic ABBY and happy. They have been through a lot since their mother abandoned us, but they would NEVER con- sider acting out like this girl. Last weekend I was asked to bring her requested dinner and then leave, because she wanted Mommy to watch her paint. Abby, they are together every day, almost all day, and close relatives refuse to watch the child. Is a resolution possible? Should because, as it stands, it is going nowhere. DEAR ABBY: I have a friend who has stopped by unannounced several times. She’ll send me a text, but without giving me a chance to respond, she just pops over. One time I was in the middle of studying for an exam and it wasn’t a good time. Other times I was busy doing something and was startled when she showed up. Finally, I mentioned something in a text about how much I liked her as a friend but would really appreciate if she would wait for a response to her text before stopping by. It has been two or three days now, and she hasn’t responded. I even said I didn’t want to hurt her feelings and hope she understands. I stay or should I go? When do I have the right to say enough is enough? The constant exclusions make me feel insignificant. — COUNTED OUT DEAR COUNTED OUT: If “close relatives” refuse to watch the child so your lady friend can have a break, there may be more to this story than you have written. The girl is fighting for her mother — and winning. From where I sit, Mama could ben- efit from some discussions with a child psychologist and lessons in how to say no to her daughter. Adult relationships are sup- posed to make both parties feel better, not insignificant. As to whether you should stay or go, I think you would be wise to take a break from this relationship I would think most people feel as I do about unannounced vis- itors, but I could be wrong. I would like to ask her how she would feel about it, but before I do, I need to know what’s “normal.” — BUSY AND BOTHERED DEAR B & B: It is consid- ered normal good manners to ask if it is convenient — and wait for a response — before stopping by someone’s home so it will not be an intrusion. You were studying, but many people work from home and also don’t want to be dis- turbed. Others prefer to be “pre- sentable” before they have com- pany. Interesting, isn’t it, how many self-centered individuals become hypersensitive when called on their behavior. News of the Weird EO Media Group learned skills in graduate school or in their career endeavors.” College students make find of a lifetime FULTOM, Mo. — Undergrad- uate researchers from Westmin- ster College in Fulton, Missouri, made a paleontological discovery of a lifetime — a 7-foot-long tric- eratops skull from the Badlands of South Dakota. The private liberal arts college in a press release reported three students and four alumni joined David Schmidt, Ph.D., associate professor of geology and environ- mental science, in June and July for his seventh Westminster fossil expedition at the Grand River National Grassland. Schmidt said the annual dig is extremely pop- ular among Westminster students, according to the college’s press release. But this year, COVID-19 derailed plans and no course credit was available. Even so, students signed up for the excursion. The Westmin- ster group usually expects to find fragments of dinosaur bone and the occasional complete bone during this field work. But a During their field research, the Westminster group usually expects to find fragments of dinosaur bone and the occasional isolated, complete bone. But everything changed, the press release stated, Fossil reveals first evidence of megapredation XINGYI, China — A fossil from China proves the adage there is always a bigger prehistoric marine reptile. Some 240 million years ago, a dolphin-like ichthyosaur swal- lowed another marine reptile only a little smaller than itself, according to the new research at iScience. The ichthyosaur died almost immediately, but the last meal became a fossil, preserving the first evidence of megapreda- tion, or a large animal preying on another large animal. Scientists in 2010 excavated a nearly complete skeleton of an almost 16-foot long Guizhouich- thyosaurus, which could grow longer than 21 feet, according to the report, and the abdominal region of the fossil showed an “obvious block of packed bones bulges. Researchers discerned those were the remains of anther marine reptile — a 12-foot-long thalattosaur. Ryosuke Motani, professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis, co-authored the paper on the find. Photo from Westminster College Faculty and students from Westminster College of Fulton, Missouri, pose during their excavation this summer of a triceratops skull in the Badlands of South Dakota. when a rancher found something unusual poking out of the earth along a slope as he repaired a fence in the summer of 2019. The rancher alerted the National Forest Service, and their officials contacted Schmidt, who just arrived with his research group. Schmidt determined the object was a tip of a triceratops horn and would require months of careful excavation, but that work had to wait until this summer. Digging up the 3,000-pound triceratops skull — which students named “Shady” after community members of the nearby town of weather Shadehill, South Dakota — made the student and alumni group giddy, begging to remain in the field this summer longer than the usual six to seven hours per day. Pick axes, shovels, a telehan- dler, a backhoe and a flatbed truck brought Shady to the Westmin- ster campus, where it is resting in a secure location until the college can raise funds for restoration. “The entire goal of this, at Westminster, is for students to use the fossil specimens for under- graduate research,” Schmidt said in the press release. “So they have practical experiences and use Astoria Longview 52/69 Vancouver 53/81 54/82 54/85 Condon 56/91 56/83 THU FRI SAT Mainly clear Sunny and pleasant Sunny and pleasant Plenty of sunshine Sunny and pleasant 86 45 89 45 85 45 Eugene 8 7 7 50/87 86 47 90 52 84 47 8 6 8 La Grande 53 88 52 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 6 7 50 85 48 Comfort Index™ 5 86 50 80 44 9 6 9 6 TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Sunday Low Sunday High: 121° Low: 32° Wettest: 8.79” 90° 47° 90° 49° 96° 49° PRECIPITATION (inches) Sunday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date 0.00 0.31 0.51 2.92 6.89 0.00 0.04 0.63 13.06 10.69 0.00 0.12 0.46 25.31 14.91 Coos Bay 53/79 HAY INFORMATION WEDNESDAY Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration 20% NNW at 6 to 12 mph 5.8 0.24 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Monday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 20% of capacity 42% of capacity 53% of capacity 66% of capacity 29% of capacity 33% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Sunday) Grande Ronde at Troy Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder Burnt River near Unity Umatilla River near Gibbon Minam River at Minam Powder River near Richland OREGON Rome Lakeview Brookings TUE. WED. 6:07 a.m. 7:40 p.m. 3:22 p.m. none MOON PHASES 614 cfs 88 cfs 113 cfs 46 cfs 117 cfs 33 cfs First Aug 25 Full Sep 1 Last Sep 10 Beaver Marsh 57/89 New Sep 17 Brookings Paisley 1520 ADAMS AVENUE LA GRANDE, OREGON 97850 Frenchglen 54/89 Diamond Grand View Arock 53/87 60/93 57/89 58/91 Klamath Falls 49/85 Lakeview 44/86 McDermitt 56/89 RECREATION FORECAST WEDNESDAY THU. WED. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla THU. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 92/61/s 90/60/s 80/52/pc 80/52/s 86/48/s 84/42/s 94/60/s 95/59/s 64/50/s 65/50/s 79/48/pc 79/49/s 93/61/s 94/56/s 92/52/s 91/54/s 88/56/s 87/54/s 83/56/s 82/57/s 79/52/s 81/52/s 89/44/s 87/45/s 89/55/s 88/56/s 85/51/s 84/52/s 86/55/s 85/55/s 91/58/s 89/57/s 84/46/s 82/43/s 89/60/s 88/60/s Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice Behind the modern, unique design of the Stressless ® Wing lie a host of innovative comfort features exclusive to Stressless ® seating. • Free Delivery • In-Store Credit • 70 Store Buying Power • Decorating Assistance Jordan Valley 55/85 Fields 61/94 Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 69/55/s 69/53/pc 86/49/s 85/52/s 90/61/s 92/63/s 72/57/s 78/57/s 88/49/pc 89/45/s 67/51/s 68/51/s 86/51/s 84/52/s 90/56/s 90/53/s 88/49/s 85/50/s 87/51/s 86/52/s 92/56/s 90/54/s 85/56/s 85/55/s 90/56/s 87/55/s 88/53/s 86/50/s 84/49/s 82/48/s 92/56/s 91/55/s 85/48/pc 87/50/s 86/46/pc 86/47/s Boise 64/90 Shown is Wednesday’s weather. Temperatures are Tuesday night’s lows and Wednesday’s highs. City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Juntura 56/93 Silver Lake 48/86 SAVE $500 ON ONE OF OUR MOST SOUGHT-AFTER RECLINERS. * See store for details. Burns 48/85 49/85 Medford 54/72 Ontario 61/93 48/88 56/91 WED. SUN & MOON 6:06 a.m. 7:42 p.m. 2:10 p.m. 11:38 p.m. 49/83 REGIONAL CITIES The temperature plummeted to 10 degrees in Bowen, Mont., on Aug. 25, 1910. This is the lowest temperature ever reported in the United States in August. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Brothers 46/83 Roseburg Huntington 51/83 52/86 Oakridge 55/90 64/94 Seneca 52/81 Grants Pass WEATHER HISTORY AGRICULTURAL INFO. 55/88 Chiloquin Death Valley, Calif. Yellowstone N.P., Wyo. Apalachicola, Fla. High: 97° Low: 40° Wettest: Trace 48/89 Council 50/87 John Day Bend Powers 54/91 50/81 50/88 Elkton SUNDAY EXTREMES ALMANAC Sisters Florence 52/67 Halfway Granite Baker City Redmond 49/64 52/67 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. Monument 51/90 52/86 Newport Enterprise 50/85 53/88 47/82 52/85 Corvallis 54/84 82 46 Elgin 51/88 La Grande 54/83 52/88 Idanha Salem WED 7 60/89 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg 51/84 Lewiston 61/92 Hood River 57/88 TONIGHT 7 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Walla Walla 56/92 Maupin Comfort Index™ PENDLETON — The avian rehabilitation and education non- profit Blue Mountain Wildlife, Pendleton, reported a fledgling osprey it was caring for died from fungal lesions in its lungs. The young bird arrived at Blue Mountain Wildlife in late July/ early August, according to the weekly report from the facility, and had parasites in both eyes. The osprey also would go into “acute respiratory distress with the least amount of stimulation,” and died two days after admission. “A necropsy revealed his lungs were full of fungal lesions making them almost nonfunctional,” the report stated. “Aspergillosis is caused by a fungus commonly found in the environment. When birds are stressed they tend to be susceptible to the fungus.” Kennewick 52/80 St. Helens 48/69 50 87 47 Osprey succumbs to fungus AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION TIllamook Baker City “We have never found articu- lated remains of a large reptile in the stomach of gigantic predators from the age of dinosaurs, such as marine reptiles and dinosaurs,” Motani said in a UC Davis press release. “We always guessed from tooth shape and jaw design that these predators must have fed on large prey but now we have direct evidence that they did.” PLUS, SAVE UP TO 25% ON STRESSLESS ® OSLO AND MANHATTAN SOFAS.* HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 9:30 am-6:30 pm Sat. 9:30 am-5:30 pm Sun. 12 noon-4 pm CLOSED: Labor Day Sept. 6th & 7th (541) 963-4144 • 888-449-2704 ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Sunny Sunshine 64 43 82 47 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. Sunny and pleasant Sunlit and nice 76 50 91 55 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK A p.m. shower Sunny and nice 71 42 79 41 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Sunny and pleasant Sunny and pleasant 84 49 87 55 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Sunshine; pleasant Sunny and pleasant 87 47 88 52