More Birds

Gold finch We have also really enjoyed the bright colors of the goldfinches and at times we have seen 20 or so at the feeders and on the ground around.

Blue Jay

Grey Catbird

Rose breasted Grosbeak

These are just a few of the birds who have come to frequent our feeders. Some others include the pine siskins, red headed woodpecker, the ruby throated hummingbird, chickadees, harris sparrow, white crowned sparrow, black headed grosbeak. Others that we have seen , not at our feeders but just have observed on the yard include, mourning doves, robins, red winged balckbirds, regular sparrow, barn swallows, mallard ducks, various hawks, wrens, the american redstart, crows, yellow warbler, bay breasted warbler, canada warbler, purple martin, kingbird, grackles, kildeers,and bobolink, oh and Canada geese. I'm sure there are many we've missed but it is fun being a back yard bird watcher.

Birds

With the cool spring we have been experiencing we have also had the privilege of seeing a lot of birds come to frequent our feeders. We have them hung right outside of our living room window where we can see who comes to visit and we have seen quite a number of our feathered friends. They have provided quite a bit of enjoyment and entertainment for us and for the grandkids when they come. Papa says it is his responsibility to teach them about birds. I am amazed at the gorgeous colors and detail on these birds and I marvel at how God created them and so I praise him for the beauty of his creation.

I think my (our) favorites are the baltimore orioles. I just love the vivid color and whenever I see them at the feeder I stop to watch.

At one point we had three females all perched on the feeders at the same time. It is interesting to notice the pecking order of the birds. Generally the males and females don't eat at the same time. The males see to that!

We also enjoyed the red breasted grosbeak for a while but I think they have moved on by now, continuing their migration.

Nolan

Here are some more pictures of our newest grandchild. Nolan is about 4 weeks old on these pictures . These were taken at a shower we had for him and his mommy. He did very well, being passed around to all the adoring guests, only coming back to mommy a couple of times for some food. He is doing just what he is supposed to, eating , sleeping and growing. He is 6 weeks old now and spending more time awake and is smiling quite a lot already.

This is the quilt I made for Nolan and finally finished in time to gift him with it at the shower.

Cottage continued

This was Nolan's first time at the cottage and he spent most of his time eating and sleeping. He looks quite comfy with his mommy.

Hailey reading a story to Norah

Looks like Norah would like a bite of Jayda's snack.

Digging in the sand.

More good times at the cottage

Jayda decided it was time to hold her little sister and so she got up on the couch and got a pillow and then she was ready to have Madelyn on her lap. It didn't last too long though till she was on to other things.

Fun times with Papa!

Hailey proudly holding her little boy cousin Nolan. At one point when she was holding him, she looked at me and in a quiet little voice confessed to me that she had thought that she wouldn't like holding a little boy, but now she liked it! She just loves babies and is a great big sister and cousin.

Papa reading to Jayda and Norah. It was quite cute to see how Norah wanted onto his lap when she saw that Jayda was there. Luckily his lap is big enough for both.

Cottage time

Two weekends ago was fishing season opener . That meant there was a push in our family to go to the cottage and get some fishing in. As it turned out, our whole family had tome to come out and so it turned into a family weekend. Gone are the days when we had one bedroom for our family, when Mom and Dad slept in the bed and the kids all had their spots on the floor. Now our family takes up all the five bedrooms and it is busy and noisy and fun. There are always some early birds in the morning and these three got to have breakfast together while the others slept. Jayda was quite happy with her bun and strawberry jam while Kerry and Erik enjoyed a favorite cottage breakfast of crackles.

Of course there was some fishing happening too, but there were not too many fish caught. This morning the lake was like glass, but the temps were still quite cool.

Kristy and Kerry coming in from their stint at the river, trying to catch some walleye.

And a new generation of fishermen! or person! Hailey was quite happy to try her hand at fishing off the dock, and she was getting pretty good at casting and reeling in, but alas, no bites. We also spent time filling the hot tub, and trying to get the water system going, but there was still too much frost and the lines under the cottage were frozen, and so we had no running water. The weather was on the cool side on Saturday but Sunday turned out to be a really pleasant day.

Weekend with Norah

We had the pleasure this past weekend of having Norah stay with us while her Mommy and Daddy had a weekend for just them. We had a lot of fun together , Norah kept Grammy and Papa hopping. She was a good little girl and I think she enjoyed the new territory to explore, and the different toys to play with. She slept well, ate well, played well and all in all I think it was a good experience for us and for her. giving papa a big smile

wrestling on the bed with papa. That was a lot of fun and caused lots of laughter and energy expenditure, maybe more for papa than for Norah.

A definite favorite was climbing up the stairs, and she got lots of practise. She headed up there every chance she got and grammy had to follow to make sure she wouldn't fall. We tried to teach her how to come back down as well, but that wasn't so well accepted. We finally resorted to blocking off the doorway so that we would be able to better keep track of her.

She also started to discover the joys of the playroom upstairs. Who knew that sitting at a little table on a kid sized chair could be so much fun. Wait till Hailey and Jayda can come over and play with her upstairs. What fun they all will have, and then when Madelyn and Nolan join in they can really have a party.

Blessings!

Here is is, May 1st already! The flood waters are receding but not as fast as we would like. Progress is being made though. We are tired of being flooded and are waiting for life to get back to normal. And we are living on the fringe and haven't been impacted in the same way as our kids or our neighbours. But life goes on, and God has protected and provided and so far we have not heard of anyone losing their home in this area. The protection done after the flood of '97 has definitely paid off.

Spring is arriving and we are enjoying the daffodils blooming outside our door. The robins are very busy on the yard, and the buds on the trees are fattening up, and we have heard the frogs.

Being inside a dike has its perks, and one is a dry garden. Kerry can't be out on the field yet but the itch to seed something is still strong, and because the garden was ready, he went out and with the help of Hailey and Jayda planted a couple of rows of peas. A day or two later we went out and planted a couple of rows of potatoes. We had some rain yesterday and now we need some warm temps while we wait.

Our little Maddie ,

and another picture of Nolan!