I got out!

The weather was nice Saturday morning, so I arranged for my neighbors to be available if hubby needed something and hurried out the door before anyone could change their minds.

I was bound and determined to find some cool birds and explore an area at KVR that led to backwater Kickapoo River ponds that take a lot more effort to get to than just walking on old 131 Trail. I wanted to see some ducks and not just the Canada Geese.

My job is 24/7, so I cherish that time when I can get off the farm and explore.

I found a mowed trail that the duck, turkey, and pheasant hunters use. It isn't marked but in the fall, the Reserve mows a path around the marshy area and near the ponds. This is a hot spot for bird hunters. I saw the trail on the Satellite map and thought it would be cool to check it out.

I was SO tickled to follow my ears to this little marshy spot and listen to the chorus of spring peepers and frogs. I sat on a log and ate my snacks.

16 seconds of Peepers!

I did some more listening and found another pond that I could get to. No Swans, no cool ducks, but a lot of Canada Geese. Overhead several Turkey Buzzards were circling.

I imagine I could never nap like this! What balance!

I found this goose laying on her nest. I am curious if the eggs will hatch. It looks like the pond level must have risen with the rainfall? Or she wasn't a very good nest builder. I didn't notice this until I got home, but the arrow points to a turtle!!!

I just did a mini happy dance.

The rest of the day was spent digging in dirt and I got an email and a text from my youngest son. I won't go into our history, but I don't hear from him very often unless he needs something. Let's leave it at that.

He wanted to come by and say hello. He had his girlfriend and her daughter who was just a year old. 

We stood on the porch and watched the sun go down while we did some much needed catching up. Oh gosh, this little girl was absolutely adorable. 

Charlie adored her too, each time she screeched or laughed he was right there. It was so fun to hold a baby and play with her!

I threatened to keep her. But her diaper needed changing and they had a long drive to get home. 

I guess I'd forgotten how fun it is to have little ones around. 

What a wonderful day. I got off the farm and had visitors.

It sure refreshed my mood so I can face next week's weather and doctor appointments.

Have a great Sunday.

Time Out

I needed a Time Out. 

I didn't think the ponds would be thawed out at Kickapoo Valley Reserve, but Charlie and I went anyway. I forgot my YakTraks so I decided not to check out my favorite ice 'fall'. 

I like winter. I can walk across a frozen boggy area and not get wet. I did a lot of wandering off trail following wildlife trails. Little short Charlie had to negotiate the long grasses but he seemed to enjoy all the scents he found near the tiny stream we followed.

I was hoping to hear birds, you know, like Sandhill Cranes or Geese. But once I saw that the ponds were still iced, I knew I wouldn't find any.

But I did see an eagle. I didn't bother pulling the camera out at first, because eagles always fly off by the time I'd get the camera out of my pack.

However, the eagle kept circling overhead. Shooting straight up and trying to follow the eagle was really hard. 
Shooting straight up also makes me feel like I'm going to tip backwards.

It isn't the best shot and it is cropped a---lot. I was pretty pleased anyway.

We walked to the birding blind and looked at the frozen pond. Then we took off down another wildlife trail and explored the marshy area west of the ponds.

We found the river and a few places where raccoon had left trails in the bank.

Charlie was in heaven, so many smells!

The Ice Shoves from last week's heavy rains and warm temperatures were amazing. These shoves were piled high on the bank. The sun's warmth had given them Teeth! We found some shoves about 30 feet inland in the marsh too.

We headed back to the Visitor's Center. Charlie likes to lead the way. I suppose he thinks I don't know how to follow a trail?

The river was flowing but the ponds were still encased in ice. We didn't see another human and we didn't see any migratory birds, but we still had a great Time Out.

With next week's warm up the ponds should open up.

As I was toweling my muddy/iced up dog off in the parking lot, we heard geese and a Sandhill Crane calling overhead. At least I think it was a Crane.