Minnesota Loons

We spent the 4th at Sue and Bob's cabin. While out on the pontoon a mother Loon and her babies were out for a swim. She let us get extremely close, which is very unusual. Bob told us that the babies still have downy feathers and it's hard for them to go underwater. They are beautiful birds and were very lucky to get so close.

My Bombardier

For Father's Day, Dylan and Kayla's gift to Spencer was a ride in a B-25 bomber. Spencer has always been interested in World War II planes so he was thrilled for the opportunity to fly in this one. He got to sit in the nose of the plane where the bombardier sat. They flew out of Aberdeen so we took Stetson and Sutton with us. Grandpa told the boys they would fly up in the clouds. When the flight was over Stetson asked Spencer if he saw God. Spencer said no, and Stetson asked him if he wished he could  have touched God. Pretty insightful for a 5 year old.

Water wildlife

Coming home from Hecla, Stetson and Sutton like to drive really slow and look at all the wildlife that lives in the water. These are just a few of what we saw. The first is a Blue Bill Duck. I was very excited to get a picture because they slip underwater fast. The second bird is a Ibis. They are in the shallow water, sticking their bill into the mud. The next picture is the turtles sitting in the on the dead tree. The last is a Coot with her new babies. I have never seen baby coots so young with such bright colors.

Gathering eggs

 We are lucky enough to have a neighbor that raises chickens and we get fresh eggs to eat. Stetson and Sutton got to pick their own eggs on Sunday. With Donna's help Sutton is feeding the young chickens that are not quite old enough to lay eggs yet. Stetson got to gather the eggs. What a great experience for these kids.

Drying out

This is a Double-Crested Cormorant. To dry off it strikes an erect pose with wings outstretched , facing the sun. We have a perfect place for them to roost in the dead trees by the water. At sunset all the Cormorants are on the top half of the trees and all the white egrets are on the lower level of the trees.

Calving time

It's that time of year again. Calving time! Dylan has calved out around 250 calves so far. He is close to the end with about 30 more to go. When I drive by the pasture on a sunny day little calves are running around everywhere, just like kids out on a playground.

Songster

The other day I was in the kitchen and heard this bird singing outside my window. This is a Brown Thrasher.
My handy dandy bird book says the male has the largest documented song repertoire of all North American birds, with over 1,100 song types. My question is, who sat and distinguished that there were 1,100 songs coming from this bird!