One Flew Over the Eagle's Nest

Within the past few years bald eagles have begun to re-populate our little neck of the woods. It seems they are finally making a comeback. The bald eagle is the only eagle unique to North America....and half of the bald eagles in North America reside in Alaska. They can be found as far south as Mexico. We heard of an eagle's nest not too far away so Friday after work, Mom, Dad, and I headed out to go see it. 

As usual, the pictures really don't do it justice....Dad using his binoculars....

Did you know that eagle's nests can be up to five feet in diameter? They also use the same nest year after year and the big ones can get up to 9 feet in diameter and weigh two tons!! If the nest falls out of the tree or the tree falls over, they simply build another one near the original site. (Can you tell I've been doing some research? I like my 'readers' to be informed) Eagles mate for life and usually raise between 1-3 young at a time. This particular nest was very large and made out of huge sticks....it was maybe the size of a child's play pool. 

They always build the nests near a river or coast. We couldn't see into the nest or see any eaglets...but hopefully we have some eggs in there! Both the male and female take equal parts in rearing the young. 

So after we left the nest, not too far away we found one of the adults who probably 'owns' the nest....

An adult eagle weighs up to 14 pounds and their wing span can be up to 7.5 feet! They truly are amazing....and good news, they were taken off the endangered species list in 2007! They eat mostly fish and some dead/decaying flesh. Yum.... No one knows for sure what led to the decline in the eagle population....human encroachment on their habitat, hunting, etc....but the use of DDT as a pesticide is the  main suspect. DDT was banned back in the '70's and it has taken eagles 30 years to rebound. 

Welcome back Bald Eagles!

Thelma and Louise

Last weekend Mom and I took a quick trip to Houston to get out of the cold and visit my house to check on things.... and pack. We had a bit of glitch on the way to the airport....there are two airports 'close' to my home town...one in Cedar Rapids, which is north, and one in Moline, IL, which is east....Remember in my last post how I admitted I never know where I'm going? Well, we had a bit of a communication breakdown...I had booked our plane tickets a month or so ago...and there was some discussion at the time about which airport to fly out of....and we ended up choosing Moline. I had emailed mom all the itinerary info (which she apparently didn't read). About a week ago we were discussing the trip and I had forgotten and thought we had booked the flights out of Cedar Rapids...until the night before when I got my check-in emails....and I had assumed that Mom had read her email.

So Mom still thinks in these small little airports we still need to be there 2 hours before your flight...so the morning of our flight we left in plenty of time. I was driving and I told Mom...'I'm not really sure how to get there'...she looks at me kind of funny and says...'you just go like you are going to Cedar Rapids'...I think...'ok, I guess she's gonna tell me where to turn off etc to head to Moline'....so we get up to the exit to head to the Cedar Rapids airport and I realize she's taking me to the CR airport...I look at her and say 'mom....we are flying out of Moline!' (duh...I do know how to get to Cedar Rapids)...so she then abruptly begins to freak out...we realize our mistake about 1.5 hours before our flight is supposed to leave and it takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Moline from Cedar Rapids.

So we turn around and literally drive 100 mph to get to Moline in time...we passed 3 cops and mom was convinced she was going to lose her license....I told her that I felt like we were Thelma and Louise. 

To make a long story short...we made it in time to catch our flight and we had a great weekend! 

The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to be home! I've missed my furniture...my neighborhood....everything. 

We really didn't get much packing done cause the house was showing like crazy...plus, we had too much shopping to do!! My friend Tracy and her daughter Ryan came into town from San Antonio and we hit up the outlets...and the Galleria...and Market Street....I purposely packed light so I would have plenty of room to bring back my goods! Ryan trying on some Burberry....

We had a fire pit party with some of my friends from work....We roasted hot dogs and made smores....

My redbud tree was blooming and we enjoyed sitting on the patio...

We went and got manicures and pedicures and upon the recommendation of The Pioneer Woman, I tried the Shellac manicure.... I LOVE IT!!! It's a cross between acrylic nails and regular nail polish...here it is a week out....still looks brand new! 

We hit up most of my fave restaurants....I didn't want to leave :( The weekend went by too quickly. Hopefully I'll be back soon....but to really pack this time :( 

Spring Awakening

Well I think it's pretty safe to say that spring is upon us...thank God! The snow is almost all but melted and the sun has been out more than two days in a row. Another way to tell that spring is right around the corner....calving has started! 

No, I don't want to live on a farm....no, I don't want to own livestock and... no, I'm not really into all this agricultural stuff...however, I do get a little nostalgic when it comes to calving season. I went out last week on a farm call with my dad to pull a calf....it's probably been at least 10 years since I've had the pleasure of riding along to watch him accomplish such a task. 

My entire life I've ridden with him in his dirty truck on various 'calls'...pulling calves, pulling pigs, treating prolapses, sewing up horses.....you name it. Each call always starts out the same....trying to find a place in his dirty, cramped truck for me to sit...I usually end up holding his 'caboodle' type trays full of syringes, bandage material, and medication in my lap. He always knows exactly where he is going which is funny cause we both have the worst sense of direction on the planet. He then proceeds to tell me who lives in each farm house we pass along the way. 

So last week I was finished with all of my appointments when a farmer called and needed him to come pull a calf. I think he was pretty surprised when I asked if I could ride along....I donned my overalls, coat, and gum boots....no couture here...I'll have to look to see if any of this stuff comes in pink....anyway, it was a pretty crappy day out...cold and gray....

....and muddy....It's pretty amazing anything newborn can survive out here when the first thing you are exposed to is manure and mud!

The 'patient' he was called out to see was a heifer (a female cow who has never had a calf before)....the calf was pretty good sized...about 90 pounds and was coming breech. Dad wouldn't let me take pictures of the actual pulling process but to sum it up....it would make your girl parts hurt quite a bit....I thought while I was watching the situation play out....'why do I like this so much?, oh, i forgot how much it looks like it hurts!, and now I remember why I haven't been that excited to have kids!!'....poor thing! 

Yay! A healthy baby calf was delivered into the world....sorry the pic isn't so great....another casualty of the low light situation in Iowa. I forgot to look or ask if it was a bull or a heifer calf. 

I'm happy to report cow and calf are both doing well....she is registered at Target if you'd like to send her a baby gift. 

This Little Light of Mine

Wrigley is obsessed....

with this.....

it's a laser light...made for cats. It's a genius invention for lazy Americans designed for you to exercise your pets from the comfort of your easy chair. It emits a little red light....

and my two dogs go crazy for it...especially Wrigley. He would chase this thing all day long. He is constantly on 'high alert' for the mysterious little red light that randomly shows up on the floor. He constantly scans your hands for the little green mouse and is frequently fooled when you pick up the  remote control, a camera, or even a cell phone. He has always been weird about reflections...from your watch, ring, etc....but the laser takes the cake. He jumps and pounces on it and digs frantically at the floor trying to 'kill it'. It's kind of sad...cause he'll never succeed. But we all get a good laugh at his expense. He runs full speed chasing it through the house....and if you happen to be down in the basement while someone upstairs is playing with him, you'd swear a pack of elephants had just ran through the house. I'm sure he's going to blow his ACL someday or have head trauma from running into a wall....but he doesn't care...he MUST get the little red light! 

Mid pounce.....

Kill the dot!

We've already had to change the batteries once, and it looks like he's already lost some weight...guess he'll be ready for swimsuit season far ahead of me!