Show Time

Well, the rental season is upon us.  Time to spruce the island up for summer.  The point deck was restored to its former glory over the winter.  The kitchen deck just took a new coat of stain after the power washing.  Alice's deck is coming up.  The chairs on the Alice deck are being painted in primary colors this year--who says we're set in our ways!  The fence separating the domestic north of the island from the wild south has been painted a sparkling white.  The main pier has been re-decked and carpeted. The crew is coming in this morning to roll the pier in the lake. Nothing like a carpeted pier for bare feet.  Aluminum decking is pretty--but it's hot.  The hot tub is all plumbed--just needs cleaned and filled.  Cookie is busy with the planting.  Lots of flowers of course.  Busy times around here.  We like our visitors to enjoy the surround as much as we do.

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!