More Geocaching/Hiking

On Thursday, we met the Ward Family at Whispering Pines for a fun time and picnic. Before and after our playdate, we did a little geocaching in the park. One geocache was missing but the other, The Birth of Whispering Pines was found and it was in neat location - in an area of "ruins" from where the entrance to the park used to be. The boys liked exploring that area.

Where has the lake gone?

Yesterday we enjoyed a wonderful day at Lake Winnot! We come to Lake Winnot a few times each summer - starting in May with Memorial Day weekend. We always come on July 4th for Larry's Amazing Fireworks!! This year, besides Paul and Donna, who own the lakehouse, we had all of the Nordens (plus Kelly and Natalie), Karen and Don, Jenni, Richard, and Sue, Harry and his new wife, Tatum and Jessica, and all of Larry's crew including his new granddaughter! It was a wonderful day - the weather was perfect and the food tasty! The only negative was how low the lake water level had gotten. We've come out here every summer since 1999 and it's never been this low. We couldn't jump off the dock (or slide down the slide into the water like Noah likes to do). You had to kneel to stay in the water at the sand bar spot. I've never been so far out to get covered by water. I hope it's just a cylical thing that will come back. Regardless, we were still able to have a great time. Noah really enjoyed frolicking around with Austin playing keep-a-way and wrestling. Nevan was pooped out (lack of nap) and liked to relax in a water filled inflatable boat that Mike brought.

Are there no more dead trees?

After two weeks of busy mornings (swim lesssons, trips to Gainesville, REACH, blueberry picking, etc) that had us out of the house by 8 AM and packed with so many needed items, it has been so pleasant to be able to get up and go for a neighborhood walk - like we used to do consistently over a year ago. The boys have awesome walking sticks widled by Grandpa and they have been very useful (especially on hikes in the woods to clear our way from spider webs). This week we have been able to get out every morning by 8:25 and do our mile walk (from Bismark to Rockerfeller and back). On Monday we visited with our walking neighbors - Mr. Bob, Ms. Lynne, Mr. Mike, and Ms. Ginger. As usual, we notice the bird calls and watch for critters. This week we have been amazed by a woodpecker. On Tuesday we heard the sounds of a woodpecker creating a new home. We listened and watched and found this woodpecker pecking at the very top of a power pole. Now this may be a normal occurance but for us, it was really interesting. After some time of pecking, it gave up and moved on, as did we. On our walk this morning, I happen to muse aloud that maybe we'd see the woodpecker again. Sure enough, a little further down the road than the first spotting, we found a woodpecker, again pecking on a power pole. Two other birds (unsure of their type) we perched on the power line watching. Other birds were chatting to each other from neighboring trees. The woodpecker stayed there for a long time, longer than we stayed to watch. So this makes me wonder...are there no more dead trees for these birds? Are we cutting up the dead trees on our properties so fast that no one has time to stake a claim and move in? Are the power poles just an easier find?

Geocaching (our my way of getting you to hike in the woods for a while!!)

Today is Thursday which is REACH day. Noah attends REACH at PGE and usually Mike takes him in. However, because of some pressing work issues, I was taking Noah in today. He didn't have to be there until 9:30 so we decided to leave early and go to a nearby park and do some hiking/geocaching! We looked for 2 geocaches (one medium and one small) and found both! There were not any toys in the medium one and only a sign in scroll in the small one but it was fun. Both boys brought their walking sticks and found this helped with keeping small bushes and spider webs away when walking on more narrow trails.

After the hike, I took them by McDonald's (a place I hardly ever go and don't really like) because we had a coupon for a FREE "strawberry lemonade". Since it was a new item (and the boys love lemonade), we decided to try it. Nevan and I didn't care for it but Noah drank most of it.

Birds and Nests!

Back in February our beloved dog Keilere passed away. She was 14 years old and had lived a long and fun life! We miss her a lot and hope to one day get another dog.




Since her passing I have noticed an increase in bird activity in our yard, specifically nests. We were lucky enough to have one nest built in the Holly bushes adjacent to our back porch. by a pair of beautiful Cardinals. We watched through the screen in late March and early April as three small Cardinals hatched, fed, and were guided into flying by their parents. It was amazing to watch this part of their life cycle. During a flying lesson, the boys and I got too close to the screen and the mother fluttered wildly at us. We backed away respectfully. Again in late May, Mike found another nest in the Silverthorn bush on the west side of the house that hides the trash barrels. Apparently once the chicks fly, the nests are abandoned as the nests are still there but remain empty.

With the onset of Spring in March, it's been amazing not just seeing the nests and chicks, but hearing the birdsongs! Our neighborhood has many wonderful trees for birds to spend time in. While out on walks, the boys and I will stop and listen to the sounds of the birds and try to identify where they are and if we can spot them in the trees. Today we were able to spot a few.

Spending time listening to the birds and attempting to identify them reminds me that we have a wonderful book to read in our home studies. The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess is a wonderful story about birds in their communities. We also have field guides to birds as well as a wonderful book with audio recordings of birdsongs to help us identify birds by their calls.

Welcome to the blog!

Hello and Welcome! We are 1 family (4 of us) enjoying our journey through life together. I've decided to start blogging about things we are doing and learning as a "journal" so that we can look back and enjoy our memories! Feel free to comment on any posts! Come along and spend time with us 4 enjoying the journey!