Our New Neighbors

Big news in Bear Country, Fans: robins are building a nest in one of the three lilac bushes in the backyard.  It is the one nearest the stairs off the deck that Joe is fond of clambering up.  (He has been admonished not to do so for the time being.)  We spied the nest while we dined al fresco Friday evening before the next system of thunderstorms rolled in.  We then peered at the goings on through our binoculars, though La Familia Robin has selected a secluded spot in which to build their nest so we didn't see too much.

Earlier that evening, Julie and the bambini had had to walk to get the red car from where Julie had ditched it at school pick-up time. (Joe was hosting a friend for a post-school play date so Julie had had to pick-up on foot and didn't have time to drop the car at home.  School releases at 3:50pm and it's a deadbeat-parent-feeling-inducing ghost town by 4pm.)  She'd ditched the car on the street where Joe's friends Sophia and Grant live.  Joe had commented that Sophia and Grant were neighbors.  Julie had said we were their neighbors, too; we just lived one block over and up.  Joe had said, basically, that yeah, we weren't neighbors like Sophia and Grant.  Julie had forgotten she was talking with Mr. Literal.

Anyway, after the initial excitement of sporting the nest had subsided, Joe glanced up at Julie and slyly said, "They're our neighbors."

Successories

One of Clara's more charming traits is her love for accessories.  She will change outfits multiple times a day, try on Julie's jewelry when allowed, and otherwise accessorize at will.  Recently she was in Target and spied some eyeglasses that she wanted, and her mother, an accessory aficionado herself, obliged.  Also in rotation these days is the balaclava we bought her for skiing, which she was wearing one day while watching tv.  And of course skiing provides many accessories, like goggles and the such.  

Winter Vacation

The family took a long weekend winter vacation to our now familiar Grand View Lodge over Presidents Day.  It was one of the few bitterly cold weekends unfortunately, so outdoor activities were reduced, but we had a nice time and just enjoyed being away.  We hit our favorites: Ganleys for lunch, Bar Harbor for a nice dinner and Zorbas for a ridiculous kitschy dinner.  The girls hit the spa, Clara got very nice aqua polish on her toes.  Also staying at the Lodge was a group of 97 families on a Christian retreat, so it was busy.  But the highlight was while we were pretending to ice fish Julie scoped out a dog sled operation also on the lake.  It turned out it was an activity for the Retreat, but Julie appealed to their Christian kindness and they offered to do an extra lap with us.  So we ran over, quickly hoped on two sleds attached to a team of about 10 dogs and did a short lap on the frozen lake.  It was a great experience in a beautiful setting, but no time for pictures unfortunately.  

A Peregrine Falcon Adventure

Fans by now likely know that Joe's favorite animal is the fastest in the world - the peregrine falcon. So when we heard of a special program for the opening of an exhibit all about the successful reintroduction of the peregrine falcon at the Bell Museum (also where Joe did some summer camps) we knew we would be first in line.  

The festivities were kicked off by a special talk by the founder of the Raptor Center and Peregrine expert, Dr. Pat Redig. The kids were forewarned that it might not be kid focused but they had to see it through. And they were excited for it, claiming front row seats. What we did not bargain for was a 90 minute lecture. Amazingly the kids stayed in their seats and mostly held it together. Unfortunately they absorbed about 1% of what they heard.  

But we weren't done there!  We spent another two and a half hours exploring all things raptors. First there were a kestrel, a bald eagle, and a peregrine falcon on display. There was the exhibit itself where the kids made peregrine falcon puppets and Ted read more about the bird. Then there was a live raptor demonstration where a great horned owl swooped over our heads. And the finale was dissecting owl pellets, the bones from which were carefully packed up for home by Joe. 

Clara was not as enraptured by it all as Joe, but she hung in there and retained a lot of the information thrown at her over the four hour adventure. 

Julie wasn't able to join us for the visit, so we may have to go back another day to show her everything!

Fall fun

This was MEA week, which for the non Minnesotans is the statewide fall break on Thursday and Friday. Julie stayed with the kids and took them to the Kiddywampus art studio on Thursday and rented Cinderella to watch on Friday morning. Ted came home for lunch on Friday so the whole family could go to the zoo. It was a beautiful Fall day to see big cats (Joe's mission) and Bison (Clara's mission).  We also got to play on a new play area where the kids showed off their climbing skills. The coolest thing was getting to walk in the bear's habitat while it is being renovated following a minor (!?!) incident a couple months ago of a bear breaking a viewing window.

On Saturday the kids raked some leaves so they could play in the pile. Clara was particularly looking forward to getting buried.  We ended the day at the annual Halloween event at the Westwood Nature Center.  Joe , Clara, Darby and Lilly tried all the games to win prizes and took Mother Nature's Trail to visit the animals. Joe's costume is a Wild Kratts bat, and Clara's is a witch. After last weekend's abnormal hot weather we are feeling like proper Fall again and doing proper Fall activities.