Patience and Persistence

I'm leaving the hospital at 10:00 this morning and I am walking out to my car in the parking garage. This mini van was parked next to me. Look what was there to greet me. A Red Tailed Hawk. And you cannot see it in the photo but he had his claws wrapped around a small bird. He must have flown into the garage after the bird. Why else would he be in the garage? And Margaret.... I think this was the same bird you saw in your yard a few days ago. He told me that you sent him up to Michigan to visit me. Thanks Margaret!!
Speaking of the birds.... I am going to confess that I am a failure at attracting birds to my yard. After our vacation it made me realize that I really wish I could do better at it. I love birds!! And I am so envious of my Dad's backyard birds and my brother in law Brian gets amazing birds at his feeders too. So off to the "Family Farm and Home" store I went yesterday. I bought 2 new feeders and fancy birdseed.
One of my new feeders is this window one. I didn't have it up but 30 seconds and it fell to the ground breaking the base where the birds are suppose to perch. I glued it together with gorilla glue, which didn't work, so I just rigged it together. I hope it can withstand the weight of a bird.... I'm already feeling like a failure again. Maybe if I have patience and persistence I will someday see a bird in my yard.

Zoe proofing the house

I don't have to be to the hospital until 10:30 this morning. This gives me a change to get my last few loads of laundry done that I didn't finish over the weekend. And visit a few blogs, do some blogging.....

Who could stay mad at this face?

Zoe has been a bad girl lately. Not really but she's doing some naughty things. Zoe was a chewer when she was a puppy and even for a few years after that. She had to be crated when we were not home or she was destructive. About a year ago we started trusting her to have the run of the house when we were gone and for the most part she's been fine. But in the last few weeks she's getting a hold of things and chewing them. A few weeks ago it was the case for a movie we had rented (I had to explain that one to the movie rental store), yesterday it was the leather photo album that I had just put together that day of our vacation pictures. And her favorite thing to do is get up on the kitchen table to see what goodies she can find. If we leave a kitchen chair pulled out from the table she thinks that is an invitation to jump up on the chair and then onto the table. Friday I had brought home one of those long loafs of bread from Panera and she helped herself to it. I found it under the coffee table in the living room. It really is impossible to stay mad at her. She's the sweetest most adorable dog. I just have to do a double walk through when I leave the house to make sure it is Zoe proofed.

Last vacation post

I just had to do a post about snowmobiling while we were at the cabin. I promise it's the last one! This is one of those self photos where you hold the camera out in front of you. Craig and I went snowmobiling by ourselves most of the week. Caleb, Jordan, Glen and Sue came up on Thursday and joined us for the last few days to go snowmobiling. It was absolutely beautiful!! During the week the trails were perfectly groomed with plenty of snow. We couldn't have asked for better trail riding. The scenery is what gets to me. I can just be riding along and start squealing because some areas really touch me. The trails are through every kind of terrain you can imagine.... woods, fields, hills and valleys, over rivers and streams.It was very cold and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to stay warm but that wasn't a problem. We just bundled up really good and thank God for heated hand grips. As long as we were moving and my hands were wrapped around those grips I stayed toasty. Whenever we stopped and I took my mittens off to take photos is when my hand froze.This was one of my favorite trails. This one had a long area that was through a pine forest. It was like riding through a tunnel. Personally I rode about 350 miles for the week. Craig rode almost 500 miles as he rode a lot more with the kids and our friends when they came up. I was happy that they gave me a little break. Here's Craig and Caleb leaving the cabin to hit the trails. And Jordan too.

Thanks for letting me share our vacation with you. If any of you are interested in where we stayed here is the website for the cabin we rented. Click here. The owners are great and they think of everything to make the place so comfortable and cozy. I'm sure we'll be back again.

Weird Object Friday

Happy W.O. Friday. Sorry I'm so late in posting mine. My W.O. is simply what it looks like. A frog singing in a microphone. Who would buy such a thing? Me. When we moved to our house 6 years ago Caleb and I had in mind to do his room in a frog-turtle theme. We never really quite got it all the way there but we did buy a few things with that theme in mind. I especially liked this piece because it reminded me of my son...... singing. For those of you that don't know my son he's very theatrical and sings beautiful. At the end of march he will be staring in "Guys and Dolls" as Sky. We can hardly wait.

Hartwick Pines Old Growth Forest

Tuesday morning we woke up to the coldest morning. It was minus 10 degrees and wasn't rising very fast. It was too cold to go snowmobiling so we decided to visit Hartwick Pines State Park. I'm the nature nut in the family but surprisingly Craig really enjoyed the visit too. One of the main attractions at the park is a 50 acres white pine old growth forest. It has a 1 mile walking trail through it. So what is an old growth forest? Apparently it is one of only 3 forests in Michigan (the other 2 are in the U.P.) that was spared the logging days of the 1800's. These trees are 300 to 400 years old and they are massive!! Not to mention beautiful!!
It had snowed the night before we visited and the forest and trees were covered with the most beautiful new fallen snow. It was like we were walking in Narnia. And because it was so cold we were the only humans that braved it that morning.

The wind would blow and a fine mist of snow would fall from the trees making it look like it was foggy. Craig and I would just stand in awe.

We really had no intention of walking the whole mile but the further we went the more we were drawn in.

I thought I was going to be disappointed with the photos I took because I forgot to switch to my wide angle lens. All these photos were taken with my telephoto lens but I really like them. They captured it pretty well.

Later in the week when the kids came up Jordan and I paid another visit to the park. It was much warmer that day. That is also when we fed the chickadees out of our hands. I'd like to visit this forest in the summer. I bet it is equally at beautiful then.

Where the deer and the antelope play

OK, so there weren't any antelope at the cabin but I liked the title. We arrived prepared for the deer. In anticipation of the deer at the cabin we bought 80 pounds of deer feed with us (corn). When we first arrived the deer would scatter whenever they spotted us. We would turn the lights off in the cabin so they wouldn't see us walking around watching them. Even our shadows scared them. As the week progressed we saw more and more. I guess the word got out that the Mullauer's were handing out free corn. At one point I counted 17 deer in the yard at one time. We usually put out the corn at morning and at dusk. The deer are pretty smart. By the end of the week I think they knew when meal time was.

Of course I wanted to get some great shots of them but most of my photos of them were taken from inside the cabin. I was pretty satisfied with what I had gotten during the week but I had no idea what I was in store for the last morning we were there. Craig and the kids were inside packing up to leave and I decided to put out the last bit of birdseed to see if I could attract any last minute birds. Out I went with my camera around my neck. A few days leading up to this I had noticed that the deer were slowly becoming less afraid of us. They wouldn't totally run away when they would see us but they kept their distance in the woods peaking around trees. I'm sure they were watching to see if we were putting food out for them. Anyway, I put the birdseed out and I suppose the deer thought it was for them. Ever so slowly they started to approach me. I couldn't believe it. There was a group of 6 of them. Several were very young. I stood as still as I could and they just kept coming. I was able to raise my camera and I had the most amazing photo shoot with them. It was like they were giving me a going away gift. They actually came within 20 feet of me. The young one's were braver than the older ones.

These first 4 photos tell a story. This adorable little baby reminded me of a teddy bear. He looked so soft. I wished I could have hugged him. You can see how intensely he was watching me. Very slowly he kept coming......
At this point he was almost to the feeder. I was standing near the front of the feeder and he was trying to get to the back of it so he could keep watching me. Finally he was behind the feeder still not taking his eyes off of me. This is my most favorite photo of all the deer. Just look at the innocence in his eyes. I love this photo!!!
What an experience!! Enjoy the rest of the photos.

A dream come true

Every time we head north it is one of my goals to see a Bald Eagle in the wild. My husband and my family know that too well, as I talk about it often! And I always head back home disappointed. This time my dream came true!! It was Tuesday about 2:30 and Craig and I were in the truck headed back to the cabin after spending a few hours at Hartwick Pines, a state park. As usual I had my eyes on the tree tops in search of that majestic bird. All the sudden out of the corner of my eye I saw a bunch of crows and vulture looking birds eating something up on a hill. And I thought I saw a Bald Eagle in the middle of it all. We were past it before I could be sure.
"Craig!!!!!!!!! I think I just saw a Bald Eagle!!!!" He thought he saw it too. Craig turned the truck around and drove back. Sure enough, there he was. He was way up on a hill at least a football field length away. He was eating on a deer carcass. We saw footsteps and blood leading up the hill so obviously the deer carcass had been planted there specifically for the birds.

My photos are by no way National Geographic quality but being that we were so far away I was half way pleased with them. I was using my telephoto lens but even with that I had to really crop down the photos.

After I had been snapping away for a few minutes Craig says "Why don't you try to get out of the truck and walk a little closer for a better shot?".

"No way. What if he tries to get me?" (like anyone has ever heard of a Bald Eagle attack).

"I can't believe that you have this opportunity of a lifetime and you won't get out and walk a little closer."

"OK, OK." Slowly I got out and started to walk up the hill.
I didn't get but a few yard and he flew off. I tried to get some photos of him in the air but they just didn't turn out well at all. On the way back to the truck I was laughing hysterically with excitement!! It was pure happiness.

Birds birds and more birds

As I stated in my previous post, I really concentrated on my photography while we were at the cabin. I tried hard to get pictures of all the different types of birds that I saw but some were just too quick. But being that I am only a wanna be photographer I think I got some pretty good shots. My son so kindly pointed out to me that I wasn't a REAL photographer because REAL photographers get paid for doing it. I told him that wasn't true that many photographers do it because they love it and not for money.... On our first morning Craig and I were sitting at the table having breakfast and I spotted something moving out back. At first I thought it was a small mammal because it was black and near the ground. A Pileated Woodpecker!!! He didn't give me much of a chance to get a good shot of him but I was happy just the same to have seen him. The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in Michigan and can be 19 inches tall. I love woodpeckers!! This little guy was kind of shy. He's a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. He looked soft and adorable.This fella gave me all the photos I wanted. He was not the least bit disturbed by my presence. He's a Hairy Woodpecker. Blue Jays were everywhere. A lot of people don't like them because they can be real bullies but I think they are beautiful. I only saw one pair of Cardinals. And they didn't like my presence so I had to take this one from inside the cottage. I wish I had gotten better shots of them.
This Red Breasted Nuthatch zipped around like crazy. It was a wonder that I even got a photo of him. Chickadees!!! They were abundant and so adorable. They were so sociable and would even talk to us.
Jordan and I went to a state park (Hartwick Pines) and the chickadees were eating out of our hands there. We didn't know that they would do that. We saw some other people doing it so we just had to try it too. It didn't take 1 minute and they were landing on our hands.
The feeling of their little toes curled around your fingers is amazing. It just makes you smile.
I saved this photo for last. That is Jordan's hand. To me it is just the most amazing photo. I can't stop staring at it. This photo is going to get enlarged and framed.

That's about it for our birds at the cabin except for one VERY special bird. This bird deserves his own post and I will be posting about him tomorrow. I will give you a hint... It has been my dream to see one of these birds in the wild. What do you think is the most majestic bird in all of America? Tune in tomorrow, I can't wait to show you (yes I even got pictures!!).....

We're Back....

It was a wonderful vacation and I have so much to share with all of you. I think it was the most peaceful vacation we have ever had. And some of the most incredible experiences and sights. I have so much that I am excited to tell you about that I could never do it in one post. So this week my blog will be dedicated to our trip up north to the little cabin in the woods.
Yes, this was the actual temperature most mornings. It was never above zero when we woke up. Early mornings I would bundle up looking like an Eskimo and go sit outside and wait for that perfect photo opportunity. I really concentrated on my photography hoping to get some great shots of birds, deer, wildlife and scenery.... I was not disappointed!!! I came home with 1,100 photos and since last night I have weeded them down to 500. Today I will have them weeded down to 200 or 300. I wish I could stay home all day and play on the computer with my photos and of course blog too but it's time to get back to reality and head to work.

To be continued......

Surprise!!

Surprise!! I have a new blog design and I love it!! I have tried for months to make my blog a little more personal but I never seem to know what I'm doing and all I end up with is frustrated. So I was thrilled to discover Rebecca. She is the mastermind behind my new design. She started this business as a way to raise funds for an adoption that they are in the process with. She was wonderful to work with and it was so easy on my part. Thank you so much Rebecca!! Please check out her website. The name of her business is Artistree Blog Designs. There is a link to her in my side bar.

We are leaving for the cabin in the morning and I will not have access to a computer while we are gone. Have a great week everyone. See you in a week or so......

Isn't she beautiful....

Last night was the highly anticipated Winter Fest dance at school. Jordan was BEAUTIFUL!

Weird Object Friday

At the suggestion of my friend Margaret, it is weird object Friday. I'm going to make a little game out of my weird object. Can you guess what this is? I'll give you a few ideas with one being the real one. Make your guess. I'll update later tonight with the real answer.

1. An antique egg basket
2. An antique horse muzzle
3. A wire cup from an antique bra
4. A protective cover for old street lamps

What's your guess?

Update: OK, you know it wasn't #3, I was just trying to be funny. But you all guessed wrong. Even my husband thought it was #4. It is an antique horse muzzle. I never knew such a thing even existed until a friend gave this to me a few years ago. I recieved this from an elderly gentleman from our church that was having a huge barn sale of all kinds of awesome old stuff. I got some really neat things from him and I'm sure I'll be showing you some of the other stuff I got from him on other weird object Friday's.

Why He Is My Valentine

1. I hear you loading the dishwasher at 11:00 PM when I am already in bed.

2. You are in the middle of totally taking the engine out of my car for a major repair.

3. You taught me to love outdoor activities that I never imagined I would do.

4. You love Seadra and Zoe as much as I do (Ok, maybe only Zoe).

5. You give me 100 back rubs for every 1 that I give you.

6. You turn my electric blanket on so I get to crawl into a warm bed.

7. It was always important to you that the kids be raised with manners an morals. They respect and love you for it.

8. You will not go to bed at night until the kids are safe at home.

9. You protect me and make me feel safe.

10. You put up with me and I'm so glad you do!!!

Happy Valentines Day Craig. I love you!!!