Observation Medication 6/10/11-

This weeks observation medication was going to be all about birds again this week along with the great things we saw in the water.  While I was at the beach we visited the SunCoast Bird Sanctuary and I took a ton of pictures and I intended to share them with you, but they seem to have been erased from my camera.  I am so bummed because we saw some truly great birds up close.

All the birds at the sanctuary are rescues and if they are rehabilitated and able to be released they are.

So, even though they aren't my pictures which is pretty disappointing for me, I still want to share some of the highlights of what we saw.

There was a barred owl.

http://duncraft.atom5.com/barred-owls-3542.html

To see this bird was really great timing because I have been on the lookout in our woods to see one since the kids found a few barred owl feathers along side some blue jay feathers.  Now that I know we have one hanging about in our woods I have been looking for it in hopes of seeing it in the wild. 

I was reading that they hide their nesting spots during the day time very well and they only hunt at night, so maybe I need to look for it closer to dusk.

There was a great horned owl.

 

 

 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id

 I don't know how I would feel about coming up on one of these in the wild.  I was reading they can be rather aggressive and intimidating.

I had never seen a peregrine falcon up close, but I was truly taken by the markings over their eyes... (I had a good picture of this, but alas... they are all gone...)

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/id#

 

These birds were on the brink of extinction, but they are now making a come back which is great news to us bird enthusiasts!

There was the most wonderful red bellied woodpecker.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/id

 

 

This little bird kept "modeling" for me while I was taking its picture making sure I got all of its angles.  Too bad those pictures are gone too, but I have the memory, right?

  Kalib and I found one of its feathers a couple of months ago and it jump started our study of birds, so it was nice to see one really close.  And it turned out when I was paying attention again, I saw them all over the grounds of the condos we stayed at.

There were great egrets galore along with the snowy egret.  I've never been so close to a great egret, but they were very docile and welcoming and equally as interested in us as we were them.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/id

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/id

AND the pelicans... All shapes and sizes... AND pelican babies...

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/id

 

 

 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/id

The kids actually found what we are pretty sure is a pelican skull.  We brought it home and are planning to take it to the Natural History Museum to find out.

Then in the water (not at the sanctuary) we saw all the following in a span of about 10 minutes.

A Manatee

http://www.savethemanatee.org/manfcts.htm

 

 

 

Holly actually touched it - I naturally got out of the water to get my camera to get a picture of it, but right behind it was this:

 

 

 

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/creefshark/creefshark.htm

There was just one and it was about 3 feet long.  Seeing it was enough to get most everyone out of the water until it swam back into deeper water.  Touching the manatee and swimming with suddenly became a little less appealing.

While watching the shark and manatee we saw stingrays as well as golden sting rays.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/stingray/

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kool-kini/3127576060/

 

 

 

All in one day.  All in about 10 minutes time.

I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of it all and it all happening so fast and the looks on my kids face I broke into tears of joy that we were having this moment together. And that they understood how lucky we were to get to see all this life before us.  It made me proud of our values and proud of our kids.

We ended the day with a fancy dinner near the bay and there we saw dolphins.  

What a way to end the day!!!

On Friday, our last day at the beach, there were two schools of sting rays swimming through the waters we were swimming in.  At first they scared the kids and they didn't want to be in the water, but after being told how docile stingrays are by a few different people, they ended up swimming with them for about 2 hours.  Now, I know there are plenty of you out there who will think me crazy for letting my kids swim with sting rays as they can sting and hurt, but it was a truly beautiful thing to watch. The sting rays were so curious about the kids and when they would swim through, the kids would stand perfectly still and let them pass through and then get back to their games.  

This one is a photo I took (I did have some photos left on the camera) while standing in the stingrays.

India says it was the best vacation ever - Take that! Disney World! (No offense mom)! There is nothing like experiencing life in its own habitat.

Jason and I are off to the NC mountains to visit Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (some of the largest trees if not the largest in the Southeast).  We are celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary! 

I can't wait to see what I end up learning and observing there.  I've already downloaded a bird watching guide as well as a mammal reference to my nook!!!  Oh the things I will learn!!!

Until Monday!  Have a great weekend!

1st trip to victoria bryant

We took a trip to Victoria Bryant State Park in Royston yesterday. It is such a sweet park and now we want to plan a family camping trip there with some of our favorite families - maybe when the heat breaks a bit... We went because I promised my dad a family picnic for his birthday, then I went on vacation, then father's day rolled around and we still were waiting for the right time. It is very hard to find the right time when everyday it is 100 degrees outside. We were going to go to Watson's Mill, but they don't have many picnic tables and even fewer of them are near the water where the kids could play in water and the adults have shade which was a prerequisite of my dad. So, we settled on Victoria Bryant - after I called them to make sure we would be able to be near the water and have shade and they assured me neither would be a problem - and they were right! It is a totally sweet park with small shoals to play in and there is a swimming pool and some fishing ponds as well, but we didn't hit those - just the shoals. It was also a real treat for me to be able to go on a picnic with my folks. We see them a lot in and out of each others homes, but to go out and do something that ALL of us enjoy is often not an easy thing to do. I sure hope we do it again very soon! So, here are some pictures of our day!




They are both almost as tall as me. I figure India will pass me by winter at the rate she is growing right now.


mmmm food...


sometimes I look through our pictures and I think what an obnoxious family we are that we smile so much!









next time we are going to Watson's Mill because I found out yesterday my mom has never been there. She has lived in Athens over 40 years and has never been there. Can you believe it? We have to change that.

fathers day

We went to Jason's aunt Debbie's to celebrate Fathers Day and she has a pool. The kids spent the biggest portion of the day in the pool. I totally dropped the ball on Father's Day. Jason wanted some new pants, but I don't generally buy him clothes without him picking them out because he is so picky, so after we left Debbie's we went and bought his some pants AND a new shirt that I can't wait for him to wear! He's such a great dad. I am so thankful our kids have such a wonderful role model as a father. He's an amazing man.

Broad River

Saturday was so much fun! We celebrated our friends Shannon and Jennifer's birthdays in STYLE! MAMA STYLE that is with a mix of Shannon Foley flare! She planted the seed of let's Kayak down the Broad and we all jumped on board, so we coordinated on the ever popular FB and made calls for baby sitters and who's riding with who and how can we best carpool to save on gas and made it happen. 10 of us were able to go to the broad without the kids! The menfolk stayed home since we were celebrating Shannon and Jennifer's birthday! It was a blast! Alexa did the math and with all of us there were 27 children! We showed up at the Broad River Outpost a little after 10 and were in the water by 11 and floating down the river! It takes about 4 hours to make it the full 6.5 miles. I love that my friends are so adventurous and fun! I can't wait to see what these ladies get us into next year! (Last year we had sushi and went to the country rock dancing!)I really found myself appreciating the wonderful women in my life as we floated and meandered down the river, both those who were there and those that were not. My life is filled with remarkable role models and inspiration in the ladies in my life. Thank you all!

AND a big big thanks to my sweet Hubby for watching Aaron so that Holly could go too! I know Kalib had fun with him, but I want to give him an extra special thank you from me.

Kalib wants to go for his birthday, so we are going to take him on his big 10th birthday in August. I can't wait to go again!

day 6

Last day on the beach, but it is good to be home in our beds...Thank you, Ashley and Kris for inviting us to come along on your vacation. It was just what the doctor ordered for all of us!

India enjoying herself

Kissing
The family photo... gotta love the faces on India and I - certainly not the best photo we have ever taken

We saw this guy at the house. NOT a sea turtle. He was handsome and quick. We did see a couple of sea turtles though

day 4

Finally a picture of me I don't hate

we celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary by going out to dinner and a VERY LONG walk on the beach.

We went to the oldest skate park in the nation, but boy was it hot.

six flags

On Wednesday we went to Six Flags with many of our homeschool friends! It was a blast and I got to go. Lately, many of the trips the kids have gone on I haven't been able to go along because I have had to work or something came up at work that required my attention, but I GOT TO GO TO SIX FLAGS! It was so much fun! I loved watching the kids have an incredible time and I had a great time too hanging out with some of my dearest friends! There was hardly anyone there and we didn't have to wait in lines at all. A lot of the rides, the kids could just keep on riding over and over. It was awesome! We rode a lot of rides, the kids loved the Gotham City Crime Wave and I think they rode it like 10 times. These are the swings. They rode the log ride a good many times, the Dahlonega Mine Train twice which India loved and Kalib didn't. We went on Splash Water Falls and got soaked. We rode Thunder River (which was Kalib's favorite ride) and got super soaked. Sarah Cook and I nearly drowned in the water fall when we got stuck. We were soaking wet the whole way home. The mama's loved the roller coaster's (all the mama's but me). I did ride the Mind Bender, but it reminded me exactly why I dislike roller coasters. I'm just too small and they throw me around and I just can live without that thrill, but I am glad other people like them and I can always be happy to stay with the kids while my friends ride them! The day was fantastic! Ask them about it next time you see them, their faces just light up! The kids had more fun than I have seen them have in ages and mom had a lot of fun too. Jason didn't go this time, but hopefully if we go back anytime soon or when we get around to White Water he'll go with us. That's more his speed anyhow. Next big thing on agenda... we are going to the beach! Can't wait!

ellijah

Rodney and Tracey invited us up to a place they go in Ellijay to go tubing down the coosawattee river. We had a great time swimming in the river, relaxing, and hanging out. We saw a lot of wildlife too. Tons of turtles as we floated down, some river otter (actually 3 and we saw them a few different times), a few blue heron, a couple of hawks, and a whole lot deer as they passed through the yard on the other side of the river... It was beautiful.

Our view down the river


She's too cool for school (for real)


Loves jumping in the water! There was a great swimming hole in the middle of the river!


Do you see an alligator?


The water was pretty cold!






getting ready to do some tubing

fathers day

A week late, but better late than never, right?

The kids and I bought Jason air chairs for his big day of celebration. We got 2 red ones that now hang on the backporch. We took the couch off the porch and it is now living on top of the ramp temorarily for fun for the boys. There are pictures of them skating on the ramp below. We gave Jason the chairs on Friday because we were going to have a busy weekend and we wanted the time to not be rushed. Unfortunately, we aren't using the chairs a whole lot right now because it is so hot outside, but when the heat breaks (and it will) we will be loving the chairs. I haven't taken any photos of the chairs yet, but I assure you there will be some soon.

On Sunday, we rode up to Duncan Creek in Dacula for Jason to get some skating in. It was HOT HOT HOT, so didn't stay long, but at least he got to go, right? I hated that it was so HOT outside. I know how much Jason and Kalib look forward to skating there. After they got done, we headed over to Jason's aunts house for Fried Chicken and time in the pool with the cousins. It was a gorgeous afternoon and the kids really had a blast playing together. I wish we saw everyone more often and time didn't pass us by so quickly... Anyhow, here are some photos from last weekend...

couch skating...






Duncan Creek


He already got a lecture for not wearing a helmet... he swears he forgot it in our rush to get out the door.







Aunt Debbies








There are lots more photos on my flickr page, feel free to click on any of the pictures to look at more... It's so hard to choose between them all!