The Breckenridges

What a wonderful day for yard work! Josh, Bella, and I just finished a late morning working in the yard. Bella has this little yellow rake that she uses like she is six-feet-tall. She also thinks she can push the wheelbarrow by herself. Too funny to watch. While I weeded the growth on the sand, she was playing mailman in her princess playhouse on the porch. She told me she received a letter from Emmy stating, "Hi, this is Emmy. I miss you and can't wait to see you. You can come visit The 505 again soon. See you later. Love you. Bye." The all important playhouse mailbag. It kept her occupied for quite some time. We sat on the edge of the lake on our breaks and watched the cormorants dive in and out of the lake. It became a game, guessing when and where they would appear on the surface.

Every evening on the neighbor's rope pole on his boat deck sits a Brandt's cormorant, making his evening fishing rounds. It is a special magic, all the waterbirds here at the lake. We see Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, cormorants, kingfishers, mallard ducks, even Canadian geese every once and a while. Their croaks and squawks echo across the water in the late evening. I often wonder where the nest grounds of these birds are around here. Herons are very private birds and it is a treat to see where they build their nests. We have had the pleasure of watching a baby mourning dove take cover at our wood pile for a few weeks. Bella would check on it every morning before we left for school. In the dirt under the carport, wrens frequently make it their dust bath. It is neat to see them only a few feet away, lost in a cloud of dust as the roll and splash in the dirt. The most comical of bird sightings is watching the mockingbirds chase the black squirrels out of tree and across the yard, yelling at them the whole time. I think we have inadvertently become avid bird-watchers. As soon as I can I will post pictures of the animals we see.

Until next time...