First Family Outing

Well, Bert & Edie have taken the kids for a walk on land for the first time.

The day of the hatch, they went immediately to the lake in conditions that were pretty daunting. The wind was screaming in from the north.  We had a time with the waves in our little rowboat. I can't imagine what a brand new gosling would make of the conditions! 
We now have just five little ones.  One was lost to the weather or predators.  Such is life in the outdoors.

Edie's Back!

We have the first baby goslings of the season--a week earlier than last year.  I'm not sure Bert is even aware of the hatch. As I write this, he is just paddling around the corner.  So far we have five very active babies, and at least one egg to go.  I don't like to get too close.  I'm afraid Edie might jump to her feet and squish someone.  Edie is looking much more alert now.  A trance seems to come over her when she is nesting.  Bert and Edie have a challenge ahead, as it is supposed to get to freezing tonight. 

The goslings like to poke their heads out into the sun, and then run back under momma's wing like it was a big revolving door.  They're very adept at using their heads to lever their way into the warmth. 

I've included a picture with a huge amount of enlargement.  Hope the pixels don't break up.  I'll be staying on Alice's deck for pictures until Edie trots the little ones out into the open.

Goldeneye are Back

These are some great-looking ducks. Every year they pass through Manitou--spending a few weeks at the lake. They are extremely shy, and easily spooked. When they fly off, they make a high trilling sound in time with their beating wings--one of the great sounds of winter. We have around a dozen bouncing in the water around the front of the island. They are diving frequently, so there's food of some kind in the freezing water.

Fog

Cold but pretty. Honeymoon Island Right, and Big Island Left

Love in Bloom?

I looked out the window toward the Elks yesterday to find two eagles on the ice! They couldn't have been more than fifty yards from the sea wall. I grabbed my peanut camera and found they translated to two specs. These little cameras have a perpetual wide angle lens that isn't worth a darn when it comes to birds. In my desperation, I held the camera to my binocular lens and the two kind of canceled each other out. Voila--a picture--of sorts-of the eagles.

I think they may be an item--as they took to grooming each other after the photo was taken.

If You Break an Egg....

OK. Sometimes I get my old sayings pretty scrambled--but I think one goes..."If you break an egg, then go make an omelet."

Along those lines. We find ourselves iced in today. The ice can't quite reliably hold our weight. So--if you can't go ashore...make a snow man!

The Ice

For a time, we were able to keep a passage open to the shore. Now it's so many ice cubes.

Fissures form as the ice pack attempts to make its way to the dam. Treasure Island serves as an obstacle, so the pack cracks.

The ice is problematic this year. The last two winters were very bitter, but they were great when it came to walking ashore. The refrigerator door slammed weeks before Christmas and we were pedestrians until April.

This year, we have the variability of a mild winter. We have been chopping our way through with the boat. Now we have to hold a bit, hoping to get a bit more ice for walking. I threw the mushroom anchor on the ice pack--and it bounced! Unfortunately, I weigh a bit more than an anchor, so we have to wait. Of course, rain is forecast for this evening. Back to open water?