Taken May 2nd, with four little birds in the nest.
Taken May 5th, with lots more feathers.
Again on May 5th, but this time only three in the nest.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
In the Nest
Things are getting busy in the nest but we suspect there is one less than there was a week ago. I guess that's how nature works. Either way there is lots going on. They are very loud and we expect them to leave any day now. Here is what it looks like in there.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Four New Additions
Well the nest has been very busy lately. We have received our foreign exchange teacher. Yes, a student teacher at the Ecole Francaise Bilingue is staying with us for two weeks while she does some practice teaching at Isabelle's school. It's good for us since it gets us out doing things we haven't done in a while. It also gives Jane lots of french practice.
Meanwhile the nest has seen four little birds hatch. They aren't exactly pretty, although Jane thinks they are cute, but I'm sure they will turn our just fine. It's awfully hot here with daytime highs over 30C but Jane has put out some water and the mommy bird seems to be very busy feeding the little critters. Here are some pictures.
The first day (last Sunday)
Meanwhile the nest has seen four little birds hatch. They aren't exactly pretty, although Jane thinks they are cute, but I'm sure they will turn our just fine. It's awfully hot here with daytime highs over 30C but Jane has put out some water and the mommy bird seems to be very busy feeding the little critters. Here are some pictures.
The first day (last Sunday)
Today (Tuesday)
Sunday, April 22, 2012
A New Tenant
A few weeks ago when we got back from Connecticut we noticed some unusual activity on the back deck. While we were away a robin had started a nest in the pergola that our wisteria-like-vine grows in (I'm not exactly sure what it is). She's been at it for a while and has a nice little nest built.
Last weekend I had a closer look while she was away and didn't see anything, but this weekend there are four little blue eggs in there. She's pretty brave and won't come off the nest when I walk by to go to the backyard. We've decided to keep our distance for now but will keep you posted. It seems the eggs need about 10 to 14 days to hatch. That should be sometime between next weekend and the weekend after that.
By the way, Isabelle has decided she will be called Helen. I'm not sure what the little ones will be named yet.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A Week in Connecticut
A few weeks ago we had some time in Connecticut with the family. My sister lives there with her husband Jon and my nephew Sam. My parents came down from Nova Scotia and met us there too since it's pretty much half way to South Carolina. It made for a crowded house, but that's what visiting family is about sometimes.
It all started when Jane agreed to go to Philadelphia to judge at a stamp show. Since she was going anyway and Isabelle had the week off school, I took a week and we made a trip out of it. We had a pretty good time and took in some great sights and activities. All this of course after a good three weeks with Jane's parents here in Greenville. (It's a shame I have to work. I could really enjoy showing people around.)
One of the best parts of Connecticut, other than the family, was Mystic Seaport. We went without Isabelle since she had other plans with her cousin. It started with a behind the scenes look at some neat stuff in the warehouse. The research part of Mystic Seaport was an old velvet factory that has been partially renovated and is mostly used to store the museum's larger acquisitions. The place was full of big boats, little boats, fishing boats, racing boats, canoe boats, sailing boats, and all the other stuff that goes with boats. There were masts and engines and all sorts of other goodies. In the more formal research area Jane got to look at some very old ship mail, thanks to a fellow stamp collector she met in Philadelphia.
My highlight was seeing the three skin-on-frame traditional kayaks and the umiak they had in storage. The umiak was not very old but still very interesting. It was covered in walrus skin and despite being a little dry looked like it could still take a beating. The three kayaks included a single baidarka, a double baidarka, and a Greenland style kayak that had lost it's skin. The last one seems to have been collected by Admiral Byrd on one of his trips to the North and was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit the museum. I found out about it in Mark Starr's book Building a Greenland Kayak. We were a little rushed so I didn't get any pictures but just seeing it was neat.
The actual museum part was pretty cool too. For those of you from Nova Scotia it was a little like Ross Farm meets the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic meets the Lunenburg Waterfront. There was lots to see including a working shipyard that was a whole bunch like the one I grew up in back in Nova Scotia.
We also drove up to Rhode Island and spend a day in Providence in and around Brown University, taking in a really cool sandwich shop called Geoff's Superlative Sandwiches (check out the menu, including the Kevorkian, the Margaret Trudeau, and Jaws...) and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. I also managed a little geocaching with my father, saw the USS Nautilus (the first operational nuclear submarine), and even got to go out for a little paddle with a friend of my sister in Long Island Sound.
Another highlight was the Book Barn in Niantic. It makes most used bookstores look like a small linen closet. This place was huge. I think we must have bought nearly sixty books between the three of us on everything from Nova Scotia history to kayaking. They have three locations and books for everyone. I would recommend a detour if you like to read and are in the neighborhood.
Isabelle, of course, enjoyed seeing her cousin and her grandparents, and catching up with her aunt and uncle.
Here are some pictures...
It all started when Jane agreed to go to Philadelphia to judge at a stamp show. Since she was going anyway and Isabelle had the week off school, I took a week and we made a trip out of it. We had a pretty good time and took in some great sights and activities. All this of course after a good three weeks with Jane's parents here in Greenville. (It's a shame I have to work. I could really enjoy showing people around.)
One of the best parts of Connecticut, other than the family, was Mystic Seaport. We went without Isabelle since she had other plans with her cousin. It started with a behind the scenes look at some neat stuff in the warehouse. The research part of Mystic Seaport was an old velvet factory that has been partially renovated and is mostly used to store the museum's larger acquisitions. The place was full of big boats, little boats, fishing boats, racing boats, canoe boats, sailing boats, and all the other stuff that goes with boats. There were masts and engines and all sorts of other goodies. In the more formal research area Jane got to look at some very old ship mail, thanks to a fellow stamp collector she met in Philadelphia.
My highlight was seeing the three skin-on-frame traditional kayaks and the umiak they had in storage. The umiak was not very old but still very interesting. It was covered in walrus skin and despite being a little dry looked like it could still take a beating. The three kayaks included a single baidarka, a double baidarka, and a Greenland style kayak that had lost it's skin. The last one seems to have been collected by Admiral Byrd on one of his trips to the North and was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit the museum. I found out about it in Mark Starr's book Building a Greenland Kayak. We were a little rushed so I didn't get any pictures but just seeing it was neat.
The actual museum part was pretty cool too. For those of you from Nova Scotia it was a little like Ross Farm meets the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic meets the Lunenburg Waterfront. There was lots to see including a working shipyard that was a whole bunch like the one I grew up in back in Nova Scotia.
We also drove up to Rhode Island and spend a day in Providence in and around Brown University, taking in a really cool sandwich shop called Geoff's Superlative Sandwiches (check out the menu, including the Kevorkian, the Margaret Trudeau, and Jaws...) and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. I also managed a little geocaching with my father, saw the USS Nautilus (the first operational nuclear submarine), and even got to go out for a little paddle with a friend of my sister in Long Island Sound.
Another highlight was the Book Barn in Niantic. It makes most used bookstores look like a small linen closet. This place was huge. I think we must have bought nearly sixty books between the three of us on everything from Nova Scotia history to kayaking. They have three locations and books for everyone. I would recommend a detour if you like to read and are in the neighborhood.
Isabelle, of course, enjoyed seeing her cousin and her grandparents, and catching up with her aunt and uncle.
Here are some pictures...
We took time to celebrate a birthday.
Isabelle did some playing by herself, and with Sam.
On the cannons at fort Trumbull State Park where they got to see the USCGC Eagle.
At the Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut.
And enjoying a frosty treat...
...OK, maybe a little too frosty! It is only April, after all.
We got to hang out with Tante Rhea and Oncle Jon...
...and made some memories.
Monday, March 19, 2012
The Queen of the Backstroke
Well, I learned a thing or two last weekend. Isabelle swam in her biggest meet yet. The 8 and Under State Championships were held in Greenville. She swam four races on Saturday and four on Sunday. Here results were great, but before I get to that I have a few things to say first.
I spent a lot of time at the pool cheering, encouraging, and generally supporting Isabelle and her team. I've done this sort of thing before for Isabelle, but before that I was a coach for a few years and spent lots of time supporting teams in one way or another. This, however, is the first time I've truly realized what my parents did for me during all those years of volleyball (and hockey, and so on). You see I was driven, sometimes very early in the morning, from one end of the province to the other to play, practice, and train for volleyball when I was in high school. They drove me through snow and darkness to get to all sorts of rinks for hockey. Now I think I have a much better appreciation of what that was all about and the amount of time it took. It certainly made me a better player and helped to make me who I am today, so for that I just want to say "Thank You" to my parents, my several adoptive families, and everyone else who helped me along the way. Again, Thank You.
Now for Isabelle. I have had a pretty good volleyball career with several provincial championships in two separate provinces but it took me a while to get there. Isabelle on the other hand is the fastest seven year old in the state for the backstroke for 25 and 50 yards. That's technically a state champion at age seven, not too bad! She also did really well in her breaststroke, her freestyle, and helped the team improve in both the 100 medley relay and the 4x25 freestyle relay. All in all, it was a great weekend for here and the team. Here are some pics and the videos of the two backstrokes.
I spent a lot of time at the pool cheering, encouraging, and generally supporting Isabelle and her team. I've done this sort of thing before for Isabelle, but before that I was a coach for a few years and spent lots of time supporting teams in one way or another. This, however, is the first time I've truly realized what my parents did for me during all those years of volleyball (and hockey, and so on). You see I was driven, sometimes very early in the morning, from one end of the province to the other to play, practice, and train for volleyball when I was in high school. They drove me through snow and darkness to get to all sorts of rinks for hockey. Now I think I have a much better appreciation of what that was all about and the amount of time it took. It certainly made me a better player and helped to make me who I am today, so for that I just want to say "Thank You" to my parents, my several adoptive families, and everyone else who helped me along the way. Again, Thank You.
Now for Isabelle. I have had a pretty good volleyball career with several provincial championships in two separate provinces but it took me a while to get there. Isabelle on the other hand is the fastest seven year old in the state for the backstroke for 25 and 50 yards. That's technically a state champion at age seven, not too bad! She also did really well in her breaststroke, her freestyle, and helped the team improve in both the 100 medley relay and the 4x25 freestyle relay. All in all, it was a great weekend for here and the team. Here are some pics and the videos of the two backstrokes.
First in the 25 yard backstroke.
First in the 50 yard backstroke.
Jane marking her races and heats on her arm in marker so she will remember.
The happy swimmer.
Cool as a cucumber before the race.
The start of one of her other races.
The finish at the breast stroke. She wasn't in the fastest heat but there was no one near her in this one.
Now since this meet Jane has done some research and it appears Isabelle is somewhere around 87th for her backstroke in the country! That's the whole USA! Pretty cool when you consider how many thousand kids are swimming competitively. Needless to say we are very proud of her.
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