great concert!
(publicity photo)
he was so cute and so enthusiastic- this photo really captured his passion for the ukulele!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
two days later
we had the wonderful experience of going to a concert at Old Town of the incredibly talented and amazingly fun- JAKE (less Cowbells more Ukulele) SHIMABUKURO!
great concert!
great concert!
sorry for the delay
your call is important to us...LOL
actually here is what has been happening- we went to the Yankees opener- on the Sunday before we left the River Cottage... on the way home we stopped for Grimaldi's pizza (the one from under the Brooklyn Bridge except this is an outpost) - YUM!
then we went home and began to pack because we were going to take things to storage on Monday- which we did... Monday night we went to our fave Italian place Cafe Baci for the last time this season and hung a bit with Lorraine and Michael
then Tuesday we did final stuff to get the house ready to leave and started to pack the car (kitties were getting suspicious as things started to disappear) then we had a final dinner with our wonderful neighbors and landlords Al and Carol at Al's favorite Italian Carmen's and then we headed home for our final night in the beautiful and serene River Cottage - but not before we had taken photos of our neighborhood cow the tax dodge.
This year we found out that she is more than 12 years old and is a retired dairy cow- she will NOT be heading to the meat factory and she loves carrots- LOL...
So then we got into the car on Wednesday morning at 11:30 and drove north with our little girls in the car (not on the roof Mitt Romney style) until we arrive in just north of Nashville in TN where stopped for the night. the girls did well and we were up and out by 9:30 the next morning - arriving home to Chicago around 6 PM.
Wonderful ten weeks away especially because we could both enjoy it as Phil became semifree himself as of January 1- when he turned over the showings of his vacancies to a vendor and rented five apartments during the period that we were away - in the dead of winter!
so while we had lots of filing and paper work and tax season to return to- we were less stressed than last year when we were both working and had lost my mom and sister in the previous six months.
we had a blast with visiting friends and family and next up is to look for a more permanent arrangement.
actually here is what has been happening- we went to the Yankees opener- on the Sunday before we left the River Cottage... on the way home we stopped for Grimaldi's pizza (the one from under the Brooklyn Bridge except this is an outpost) - YUM!
then we went home and began to pack because we were going to take things to storage on Monday- which we did... Monday night we went to our fave Italian place Cafe Baci for the last time this season and hung a bit with Lorraine and Michael
then Tuesday we did final stuff to get the house ready to leave and started to pack the car (kitties were getting suspicious as things started to disappear) then we had a final dinner with our wonderful neighbors and landlords Al and Carol at Al's favorite Italian Carmen's and then we headed home for our final night in the beautiful and serene River Cottage - but not before we had taken photos of our neighborhood cow the tax dodge.
This year we found out that she is more than 12 years old and is a retired dairy cow- she will NOT be heading to the meat factory and she loves carrots- LOL...
So then we got into the car on Wednesday morning at 11:30 and drove north with our little girls in the car (not on the roof Mitt Romney style) until we arrive in just north of Nashville in TN where stopped for the night. the girls did well and we were up and out by 9:30 the next morning - arriving home to Chicago around 6 PM.
Wonderful ten weeks away especially because we could both enjoy it as Phil became semifree himself as of January 1- when he turned over the showings of his vacancies to a vendor and rented five apartments during the period that we were away - in the dead of winter!
so while we had lots of filing and paper work and tax season to return to- we were less stressed than last year when we were both working and had lost my mom and sister in the previous six months.
we had a blast with visiting friends and family and next up is to look for a more permanent arrangement.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
opening day
we scored tickets to the Yankees and Phillies game for opening day of the Yankees spring training.
so we made our way to George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on a blustery blustery day to watch a lackluster Phillies team play the Yankees (who looked marginally better but not brilliant.)
we did see A-Rod hit a home run - so I guess that is probably a one and done thing for those of us who are national league fans and who may never pay the prices they charge to see the Yankees at home...
so just one more reason to stay longer next year--- enough time to see the Cardinals over on the east coast in spring training!
so we made our way to George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on a blustery blustery day to watch a lackluster Phillies team play the Yankees (who looked marginally better but not brilliant.)
we did see A-Rod hit a home run - so I guess that is probably a one and done thing for those of us who are national league fans and who may never pay the prices they charge to see the Yankees at home...
so just one more reason to stay longer next year--- enough time to see the Cardinals over on the east coast in spring training!
our last days at River Cottage
as our ten weeks draws to a close we are still finding things that surprise us.
the other morning I got up very early to find the river fogged in... but the gift of the pre-sunrise hour was the black and white crowned night heron. He has a white plume on his head that gives him his name and he is usually a night feeder - just a gift that I got up to find him still feeding across the river due to the late sunrise and the fog.
the river that foggy morning:
the night heron (you have to look closely to see the narrow white feather coming out of the top of his head- because the light was so poor) and a closer in view to try to show his crown (it is just like a single white quill sticking out of the back of his head):
two gators swimming in the early morning:
and a white ibis sunning himself as the sun broke the day:
a good view of a turtle (there are a dozen or more of them here) swimming with the small fish right by the dock:
So - my camera is still at the ready and will be for three more mornings - but we are packing and organizing and getting ready to head out- so this might be the last post from your reporting naturalist here on the Braden River. I have had an absolute blast being here and discovering all the variety that life on the river has to offer an observer of the day to day goings on.
the other morning I got up very early to find the river fogged in... but the gift of the pre-sunrise hour was the black and white crowned night heron. He has a white plume on his head that gives him his name and he is usually a night feeder - just a gift that I got up to find him still feeding across the river due to the late sunrise and the fog.
the river that foggy morning:
the night heron (you have to look closely to see the narrow white feather coming out of the top of his head- because the light was so poor) and a closer in view to try to show his crown (it is just like a single white quill sticking out of the back of his head):
two gators swimming in the early morning:
and a white ibis sunning himself as the sun broke the day:
a good view of a turtle (there are a dozen or more of them here) swimming with the small fish right by the dock:
So - my camera is still at the ready and will be for three more mornings - but we are packing and organizing and getting ready to head out- so this might be the last post from your reporting naturalist here on the Braden River. I have had an absolute blast being here and discovering all the variety that life on the river has to offer an observer of the day to day goings on.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
I know this is getting old
but again we have a first time sighting- actually two of them that I can show you photos and one that you have to just trust my cousin Michele and me on as we both sighted an otter several times but his coming to the surface was so erratic that I have no photo of the cute guy...
what I do have photos of are the glossy ibis and an immature white ibis in the process of changing colors from brown to white and of course various other interesting things seen at River Cottage as we near the end of our stay... one more week (boo hoo)
the glossy ibis:
the immature ibis:
the immature and the adult white ibis:
one gator sunning:
two gators sunning:
a new kind of bird in the sky- LOL:
a friend of some kind came to visit and left his calling cards (paw prints on the patio)
the neighbors dock with a beautiful blooming flower bush- I think Azalea from the distance...
so life continues at River Cottage as we get ready to start packing and moving things into storage for next year's use...
and - we still have our Yankees Phillies game scheduled and another get together with Al and Carol right before we head home...
what I do have photos of are the glossy ibis and an immature white ibis in the process of changing colors from brown to white and of course various other interesting things seen at River Cottage as we near the end of our stay... one more week (boo hoo)
the glossy ibis:
the immature ibis:
the immature and the adult white ibis:
one gator sunning:
two gators sunning:
a new kind of bird in the sky- LOL:
a friend of some kind came to visit and left his calling cards (paw prints on the patio)
the neighbors dock with a beautiful blooming flower bush- I think Azalea from the distance...
so life continues at River Cottage as we get ready to start packing and moving things into storage for next year's use...
and - we still have our Yankees Phillies game scheduled and another get together with Al and Carol right before we head home...
Friday, February 24, 2012
another first
yesterday we had our first visit in the two winters we have been here from a pair of roseate spoonbills.
this was very exciting because they usually do not feed in fresh water areas and of course also because they are so amazingly colorful
and the mottled ducks showed some beautiful blue under their wings that I hadn't seen before when they were in the water.
this one shows his spoon shaped bill which is of course how they spoonbills get their name (LOL)
in flight - a bit blurry but they sure are beautiful aren't they?
and look at the beautiful blue these guys have been hiding when swimming by...
the anhinga drying - you can see pretty much every feather!
now he is a regular visitor - our little gator...
so another interesting day on the river - so full of life- that we frequently would miss in our day to day rush of activities... what a gift it has been to slow down enough to enjoy getting to see and know something about these "friends" in nature...
this was very exciting because they usually do not feed in fresh water areas and of course also because they are so amazingly colorful
and the mottled ducks showed some beautiful blue under their wings that I hadn't seen before when they were in the water.
this one shows his spoon shaped bill which is of course how they spoonbills get their name (LOL)
in flight - a bit blurry but they sure are beautiful aren't they?
and look at the beautiful blue these guys have been hiding when swimming by...
the anhinga drying - you can see pretty much every feather!
so another interesting day on the river - so full of life- that we frequently would miss in our day to day rush of activities... what a gift it has been to slow down enough to enjoy getting to see and know something about these "friends" in nature...
Monday, February 20, 2012
a rare treasure
is what my bird book said about sighting the endangered wood stork...
they have lost their food supplies and therefore are not breeding in enough numbers to keep the population supported. these birds- the only storks in north america- fish by wading through shallow water and stirring up the mud so fish swim around their bills. when a fish touches the bill they immediately (fastest movement in the animal kingdom per the info in the book) grab it and swallow.
so imagine my surprise when over the weekend we had a visit from a wood stork... no mistaking this guy... I had gone out to take a photo of the anhinga drying near the dock and then spied a great blue heron in mating feathers and a couple of turtles hanging out when I turned around and there he was- Mr. Rare Treasure wading around fishing...
never a dull moment here at River Cottage
our mating heron-
the anhinga drying his feathers
turtle catching a breath and then with a buddy--
a mottled duck-
and here he is the star of the show!
they have lost their food supplies and therefore are not breeding in enough numbers to keep the population supported. these birds- the only storks in north america- fish by wading through shallow water and stirring up the mud so fish swim around their bills. when a fish touches the bill they immediately (fastest movement in the animal kingdom per the info in the book) grab it and swallow.
so imagine my surprise when over the weekend we had a visit from a wood stork... no mistaking this guy... I had gone out to take a photo of the anhinga drying near the dock and then spied a great blue heron in mating feathers and a couple of turtles hanging out when I turned around and there he was- Mr. Rare Treasure wading around fishing...
never a dull moment here at River Cottage
our mating heron-
the anhinga drying his feathers
turtle catching a breath and then with a buddy--
a mottled duck-
and here he is the star of the show!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
still trying new things
so today we finally made it to Pelican Pete's...
the reason we have been wanting to go is contained within the photos below- LOL- bet it won't take long to figure it out--- especially if I tell you I have LONG been a fan of Sticky Toffee Pudding...
food was good and toffee worthy- only problem is that if you want peace and quiet this is not your venue- live music six nights a week.... oops I meant five- with Karaoke on Fridays (YIKES!!!!)
the reason we have been wanting to go is contained within the photos below- LOL- bet it won't take long to figure it out--- especially if I tell you I have LONG been a fan of Sticky Toffee Pudding...
food was good and toffee worthy- only problem is that if you want peace and quiet this is not your venue- live music six nights a week.... oops I meant five- with Karaoke on Fridays (YIKES!!!!)
Monday, February 13, 2012
alix entertains us all
she has learned it doesn't take much to keep adults occupied - LOL
she certainly managed to keep at least her four "aunts and uncles" busy watching her...even if mom and dad were less impressed...LOL
she certainly has changed since the photos in the first post of her last May 10 (2011) - called Time Travel
more visitors
the parade continues---
this past weekend (which we started at Bern's with my birthday dinner) continued with our group progressing to various eating and drinking and sight seeing venues during the weekend.
our sweet girl Alix came by to play... and to show us how cool she was in sunglasses...
Sheila, Mary and I went to the Ringling Home and Art Museum on Sunday morning and when we got back to River Cottage Laure Arno and Alix had arrived we all went over to Linger Lodge for gator and hush puppies (new experiences for our French amis)
then we all headed off to the beach for some time by the surf and to watch the sunset.
too soon the weekend was over and we all had dinner at one of the AMOBs and headed our separate ways...
but here are some photos from the weekend together:
this past weekend (which we started at Bern's with my birthday dinner) continued with our group progressing to various eating and drinking and sight seeing venues during the weekend.
our sweet girl Alix came by to play... and to show us how cool she was in sunglasses...
Sheila, Mary and I went to the Ringling Home and Art Museum on Sunday morning and when we got back to River Cottage Laure Arno and Alix had arrived we all went over to Linger Lodge for gator and hush puppies (new experiences for our French amis)
then we all headed off to the beach for some time by the surf and to watch the sunset.
too soon the weekend was over and we all had dinner at one of the AMOBs and headed our separate ways...
but here are some photos from the weekend together:
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