Pearson - 1996 5 maximum size, but the nires, the retamo, and some radal were root-sprouting. The green only a couple of inches tall so far. The bamboo was "killed", but new green is coming up, which consists of clusters of branchlets sprouting from the uppermost surviving node (which is underground). Some new culms have formed on the rhizomes and are about to appear above ground. Across the road from the Catedral ski complex there is a fringe of unburned scrub nire with a lot of dead tops. When you look at them, many stems have been gnawed open by rodents to reveal an insect tunnel within. Saw one fresh small-rat-sized burrow nearby. Left three traps there while we lunched at the ski complex. Still empty when we picked them up about 2 p.m. 4 November - Scattered clouds but temperature mild. Stood in line to pay bills around town. Debil all day. 5 Novomber - Drizzly rainy all day. Temperature in 50s. Eileen and John arrived, and their two Uruguayan field assistants: Alexandra and Ivana. Their tuco mallin did not burn and has lots of tucos in it. They had stopped at Mar del Plata to see Christina Busch's setup, and saw Ctenomys talarum. They were impressed by how small talarum is. 6-November - Bariloche. Painted car and balcony, errands around town. Debil all day. Sr. Marful of Estancia La Fragua came by; he had seen my photo in the paper and phoned them to get my address. He wanted to tell me that he had news of the rare marsupial that I had told him about years ago (Lestodelphys). The Administrador of the neighboring Estancia, San Ramon, (Carlos Lamouniere), cousin? of Chulenga, had encountered last year a nest of marsupials in a hollow trunk near, I think, Lago Puelo. They were all dead (=hibernating?), presumably Dromiciops. Marful told about seeing Patton and Eileen and Peg out at La Fragua last year. His ranch headquarters seems to no longer be at the schoolhouse but about 5 km farther out the Pilcaniyeu road. He has trouble with tuco- tucos eating his carrots. He had had a fire also on his estancia. His health is not good (emphysema) and he no longer runs many sheep. Some cattle. He says that Patagonia used to support 40 million sheep; now only 13 million, and the Province of Santa Cruz is practically abandoned.