Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Five Eagle Kind of Day

We've been counting stuff on the way to school and back the last couple weeks.  Mostly animals and a LOT of birds.  Too many ducks, geese, swans, seagulls, and crows to even keep track of, but we estimate and try.  Blue Herons were much tougher, but we saw a few.  And today, we spotted 5 eagles and 3 eagle nests (2 of which we already knew of and one new one that Ryker spotted because he was really focusing on looking for eagles).  This is the part about not working that I love the most.  We don't race from here to there and back again.  We have a lot going on and are always headed somewhere, but we enjoy the ride much more.  We allow plenty of time to get there and if we have to pull over for an "emergency," it is no longer an inconvienience. 
 
 
It's an opportunity to count ducks,

and swans, 
 
and try to guess what day the Sammish will crest and flood the farmland on Thomas Road or Colony Creek will get just high enough to where it spills over the road, flooding the blueberry fields forcing us to drive back and go up Bow Hill Road.
 A lot of contemplating goes into it.  How much snow is in the mountains, has it rained a lot, is it going to rain tonight, what's the weather for the next couple days, what it the temperature in the mountains?  These were all questions Ryker and I talked about while waiting for Kya to do her business.  After our discussion, he made a bold prediction that both will flood tomorrow.  I'm willing to bet he's right on about Colony Creek but there's no way the Sammish will flood tomorrow.  He said, "we'll just have to wait until tomorrow and see."  Yes, we will.  We will drive slowly, count stuff, sing songs, and make more observations.  Hopefully it's another laid back 5 eagle kind of day.
 


This was our first one counted this morning, but we knew he'd be there.  He's in this same field every morning.

He lives nearby....

Ryker and Kya are very curious as to why we only see a male here all the time.  They think there is a female up there sitting on eggs.  I have no idea about eagles and their eggs, but I should probably do some research on the Internet before the questions get too hard for me to answer.  For all I know, this guy is a bachelor and the only thing in that nest is a mess and some old beer cans!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

What?! No T-ball

T-ball was cancelled one Saturday and we didn't find out until we got there. We had an hour to fill before heading south to Asa's birthday party.  What to do, what to do?  Let's hit Home Depot.


Lucky us, big fun going on in the parking lot today!









Then off to Kirkland for Asa's pool party!  No shots in the pool because Seth and I both swam too.

Birthday boy


Present time is always such a claustrophobic affair at this age.  Back it up kids, give the boy some room!

Pumpkin Picking

Picking the perfect pumpkin is hard work.  
First you have to check out all the animals.



Then you have to climb on the trailers.



Of course, you have to pose for pictures because your Mom is a bit of a psycho and even keeps a spare camera in the car in case she forgets her good one.








Finally, you can look for your pumpkin!









Boys are so easily distracted by any heavy equipment doing something!


Uh.....a little help over here....

Pay no attention to the excavator in the background..... especially if you are male....it has mesmerizing effects.


We got 'em!

We had to stop at one more farm, just to make sure we weren't missing out on a spectacular pumpkin that we just had to have.




They had apple cider so it was totally worth the stop!


Let's do this!



Load them up and go find a spot for them.


Perfect!