March Means Visitors!

Three weekends ago, our dear friends and old neighbors were in town for the weekend. We were lucky enough to have them over for dinner and a nice long visit. We miss them and still find ourselves looking at their house longingly and wishing they still lived there. However, 4 yrs. have passed and they are happy, healthy and we are glad we have kept in touch. The two little kids that left our cul-de-sac are growing into an absolutely beautiful, spunky young lady and a very TALL, handsome and respectful young man. Here is an old photo of Livie and Erin that I found from Liv's "Pink Poodle Party" circa 2005. Erin literally LIVED over here and would wait for us at her window every day. While mom, Gilda, and big brother Conner visited with other friends, Erin stayed the night and it was fun to have all three of them giggling together in the basement again! Ma and Pa Cardinal have also returned! This lovely couple makes our backyard their home each spring. I would have liked to get closer, but they kept flying away each time I tried. We diligently keep our feeders full for them and enjoy their bright colors and beautiful song. Two weekends ago, Ma and Pa Maras came for a visit!!!! Tony had two pair of his beloved skinny jeans that were so holey I banned him from wearing them to school. So, how many Maras' DOES it take to thread a sewing machine????? Tony sat patiently until he successfully got his needle threaded. Such an accomplishment! Did I ever tell you about the time he taught himself to curl his tongue? Chris and Livie can curl, Tony and I could not. No kidding, he worked and worked on it and now he can curl his tongue. He single handedly changed our entire gene pool. Anyways, I digress.... Livie is very interested in starting to sew. Gramma Nancy was very patient with her and helped her figure out Gramma Sally's old sewing machine. It was fun to see that "spark" and I have a feeling she'll be making lots of groovy creations this summer Speaking of patience....Papa John took Tony under his wing and taught him to play cribbage. He caught on pretty quick and will now fit in even BETTER at the shack! Ever since we moved here I've wanted to experience the Sandhill Crane migration. Each spring half a million birds converge on the Platte River in Central Nebraska for just a few short weeks. John and Nancy were good sports and agreed to an adventure....

I did not take the above picture, just "borrowed" it from the Internet. But it helps you to get a sense of the size of these birds. They aren't small.

The closer we got to our destination the more birds we saw in the corn fields. They are very, very protected. I got out of the car to snap this photo and was NOT supposed to. Sorry! But as far back as you can see in the field are Cranes. They feed on the corn during the day.

4th grade means studying Nebraska History for Tony. They are just finishing their Oregon Trail unit. Our little town on the eastern edge of Nebraska is truly part of the "Gateway to the West." While our state may lack mountains and oceans, we don't lack in Pioneer history. We made a stop at Fort Kearny, which was built as a safe haven for Pioneer travelers....i.e. Oregon Trail, California Trail, Mormon Trail....you get the picture. It is a great thing to walk on the same ground as those hearty folk. Tony was thrilled to sit in a actual wagon! Especially since he realizes had he been a true Pioneer he would have been WALKING not RIDING!!!!

Re-built blacksmith shop with sod roof at the Fort.

Not sure what to say about this picture....it was "hot" by Minnesota standards. We found ourselves a bit overdressed that day as temps reached into the mid-70's. Go figure that 3 days later we'd get 4" of snow.

Chris and Tony had fun playing in their "Real Life Fort Apache".

You could hear their squawking in the distance...here they come!!!!

They looked liked a sprinkle of pepper in the sky...

...but that's why I posted the close-up picture. At first you think it's a flock of little birds. But then you realize the true scope of what you are witnessing!

At a local visitor's center the kids had fun exploring a "real" earth lodge.

Very cool...figuratively and literally. It was a nice respit from the "heat."

At dusk we parked ourselves on a bridge over the Platte River to experience the birds landing for the night. You can't imagine the sound or the energy that was in the air. You can see a bird-blind on the left bank where die-hards pay to really experience their landing and taking off.

They just kept coming in wave after wave.

We were a bit disappointed as the birds decided to land down river a bit. In this picture where the river above forms a "Y", on the right side is where all the birds decided to land for the night. I can't even imagine what take-off is like at sunrise. It was a pretty cool thing to do and we're glad John and Nancy came with us.