Mad Momma Kildeer

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the Family Kildeer, with babies scattering all over the driveway. Michael and I have had loads of fun with the Kildeers since then.

Last week, we decided to take our evening stroll along the edge of the railroad tracks. Mrs. Kildeer had another plan for us. When she saw us coming, she did the usual run away and fall down and look like she broke her wing. She decided that we needed more warning, so she stopped, puffed up as big as a little Kildeer can get, and stood her ground. If you have ever seen a mad Kildeer before, you will know how hysterical they can be. She was so intent on us leaving her babies alone that she stared us down in her puffed up stance. Well, it worked. We moved to the other side of the tracks before she would stop her mad momma routine.

I am still not sure how one tiny Kildeer can stop two large adults in her path, but this one did. We still laugh about this funny little bird!

Mrs. Kildeer has relatives or friends on Williams Road, where we usually walk in the evening. They all have the same broken wing, fly away from us routine, but none of them have done the puff up/stare down trick.
These funny birds are so much entertainment! Who needs television when you can get real life?

We Saw it Again!

Since it is such a hot night, Michael was outside playing with a new glow in the dark toy. He asked me to come outside and watch him fly this toy. After enjoying the toy flight in the clear night sky for a few minutes, I suggested that I should check to see when the International Space Station would be passing by. It would be a great night to watch the flight. I had no idea if it was even in our range. It has been a few months since we last saw it and I lost track of the schedule.

What great timing! I checked the web site at 10:20 PM. The next pass by was to happen at 10:20 PM! I flew out the door, checked the sky and found the International Space Station, right on time! I missed the first minute of the flight as it came over the western horizon, but I got to see it for the three minute duration as it disappeared over the trees in the eastern skyline!

This marvelous machine amazes me! There are people on there! They get to live in space! Wow!

Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound) sighting

Last evening, Michael and I decided to treat ourselves to a dinner out. It had been over a year since we dined at our favorite restaurant, Old Mission Tavern on Old Mission Peninsula. After dinner, we stopped at the Old Mission General Store to visit with the owners. Marci was shocked to see us, since the weatherman was calling for fierce storms any minute. Marci thought we should be heading home for safety.

Since it was not raining yet, we decided to take the quick drive to the Old Mission Lighthouse. As we were heading to the Lighthouse Park, we saw a large white dog in the road. We decided that we would check her out on our way back, if she was still there. She was there, still in the road. Being the dog lovers, we were very worried about her.

I got out of the car to see if I could get close enough to see her dog tags. She was not interested. Two other couples also stopped to see if they could help. One woman almost got close enough to catch her, but doggie had other ideas. Off she went, just far enough from us so we could not catch her. As this chase was going on, the skies let loose and the thunder rolled and lighting flashed and the rain came down, down, down. One of the couples gave me a piece of smoked fish to lure her to me, but that did not work either. We were soaked, with a scared wet dog and no solution.

Aha! Let's go back to the Old Mission General Store to see if Marci knows the dog! We described the dog and immediately Marci knew the dog and her owner. Marci called and got voice mail messages, but left details about Miss Dog's whereabouts. Our job was over. We could go home now. We were still worried, but knew there was nothing more we could do.

Praise God! We called the Old Mission General Store today to find that the owners found their beloved pet and all was well.

This photo shows a pretty dry dog. Our real life dog did not have the luxury of looking this pretty last night, but I am sure she was beautiful to her owners when they found her!

I love happy endings!

Roses

 When life has made me a bit grouchy lately, 

I had to remember to stop and smell the roses.

These roses grow just outside of our basement door.

We have tried for years to cut the rose bush back

because it is too close to the door and has a tendency 

to jump out and scratch us.

We finally gave up trying to tame it. 

This year, the bush gave me a great gift

of the sweetest smelling roses, ever!

I do not know the name of the roses, but they are soft pink and white.

I have the vase in my office and it is such a sweet scent!

Matthew 6:28 See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

What a great reminder from God to let go and smell the roses.

Venus and the Sun

We found Venus today, hanging out in front of the sun. 

We did not take this image, but it looked very similar to this. 

Venus was closer to the center of the sun when we saw it! 

Genesis 1:14-18 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Yes, God, it was good! What an awesome God we have!

Laura's favorite bird

When my niece Laura was two to three years old, she asked Grandpa to read her the Kitchen Table Bird Book every single day. She would ask him to read it again and again as long as Grandpa's patience lasted. He read the entire book from front to back, every time. Like Grandparents sometimes do, Grandpa would skip a bird. Not with Laura! She had the book memorized and would make him read it again! 

When he got to Bobolink, Laura would burst into laughter, as only toddlers can do! 

Bobolink was her very favorite bird!

For the first time ever, Michael and I saw a Bobolink while we were on our daily walk yesterday evening. 

 I was jumping up and down in excitement! We have such a great variety of birds here, but I was thrilled to see the Bobolink and remember such wonderful moments between Grandpa and Laura.

The Bobolink is a very interesting bird. 

One fun fact is that the Bobolink is an extraordinary migrant,

traveling to south of the equator each autumn and making a round-trip of approximately 12,500 miles.

That's some frequent flyer miles!

This Little Piggy

Welcome "This Little Piggy" to our line of sugar cookies.

"This Little Piggy" has an adorable pink pig cookie cutter included.

We will be bringing "This Little Piggy" to the Markets this summer, 

so you can take him wee, wee, wee, all the way home!

You may also order him on line and we will ship him to your home!