Dinner at Big Lake

Tim and Hallie rented a house at Big Lake for their stay here in WA.

It is "gorgeous" according to Oly and has a wonderful view from the deck.
If you look closely, you can find the moon above the hills in the first photo.

Chickens were roasted on the grill....

....while inside, grandparents played with the baby.

And Daddy hoisted her up and down.

Tim and Hallie found Grandpa's long lost Flyers hat and brought it along.

Ladies in stripes......

Once it got dark, there was an excellent chance to look at the moon through the "eye-noculars".

Or just with the naked eye.

And after Grandpa read Oly a story (tragically unphotographed), everyone went to sleep.

There is only one rule in my car......

And the rule is "There will be NOOOO laughing!"

Here is Oly breaking that rule.

Obviously, there is work to be done with this child.

OLY'S HERE!!

 Also, Tim and Hallie.

 It was a long plane ride, so apparently she got a treat (gum) and it helped "make the plane loud".

"Grandpa, I had my first gum."
"I swallowed it."

Well.....They Weren't Dunlins

We searched our bird books and looked online to verify that the birds we saw were dunlins.  The only thing we were able to determine was that they are NOT dunlins.

Lydia had read an article in the paper that mentioned the President of the Skagit Audubon Society.  So I was dispatched to get some close-up photos of the birds.  Since they only appear just as the sun goes down, it's hard to get a decent shot of them.

But she e-mailed the photos that I was able to get and got this response:

Thanks for sending the link to your and David’s photos. You have wonderful footage of the swirling flocks of birds that reminded me of some I saw on You Tube taken in Europe. The birds on the wire are European Starlings; the ones with the gray heads and speckled bodies are juveniles (born this year) that are molting. I’ve seen flocks of starlings flying in big, synchronized flocks out on the flats west of Mount Vernon and Burlington but not in such big flocks as you captured in your video. Sometimes they do this type of flying when trying to elude a predator such as a Peregrine or other type of falcon. In one of your videos, I think I can see a larger bird flying by, but it doesn’t seem to be in pursuit.  Dunlins also engage in flying together in pretty big flocks, suddenly changing direction en masse, which gives a kind of flashing effect from the distance because their bellies are lighter than their backs. I’ve seen this out over the bays quite a few times, and while it’s impressive I don’t think I’ve seen Dunlin flocks making such elaborate aerial patterns as the starlings in your footage.  Where did you see these big flocks?

I hope this reply answers your questions. Let me know if I can be of further help. What a great experience you had that evening!

Tim Manns
Skagit Audubon Society

 
So there we have it -- European Starlings right here in Mount Vernon.

Dunlins (We Think)

A year or so ago, Lydia and I wandered out to the Skagit flats to see what we could see.  We may have been eagle sighting.
We happened upon a dike near a slough and climbed up to see what was there.  We were just in time to witness a hypnotizing, entrancing dance of dunlins over the water.   They sway this way and that in soaring unison, occasionally swooping down low and then slowly rising back up high.  It was magical and seemed like it was a show just for us and the 3-4 other people there. 

Dunlins are shorebirds that visit the region during their annual migrations along the Pacific flyway.  I'm not sure how long they stay in the valley.

Friday night we discovered that we were out of propane and couldn't cook our dinner.  We went out to Lowe's for our refill.  On the way, we saw this.

There were more birds on the wire than you can even imagine.

Behind Lowe's, we could see some in flight.  We drove around the back of the store for the show.

Having only my iPhone, it was difficult to do justice to what we saw.

The next night we went back armed with the proper photographic equipment and captured quite a scene.

The birds started from the wires on the street in front of the store and flew to the slough behind the store which was rich in reeds.

 Now watch......

They fly closer and closer to the ground until they settle into the reeds in the slough, chattering and chirping about the day's events.

We don't know what they do when they wake up in the morning......

Vivi Meets Great-Grandmom

The much anticipated event occurred Saturday morning!

Great-Grandmom was ready.

And so was Vivi.

Great-Grandmom has photos of her with each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren in this pose.  I can't decide which one I like best.

This little girl's smile lights up the entire room.

And she sure got plenty of kisses.

Of course, Great-Grandmom wasn't the only one expecting some Vivi love...

We went back to the Skagit River Brewery for lunch.

And then back home where Vivi got some walking lessons from Nana.

After all these exciting things, it was time to rest.
And Grandpa still has the touch.

After her nap, it was out on the deck for dinner.

And after dinner, it was time to change into PJ's.

Great-Grandmom bought Vivi a sweater for the fall / winter season.  We were sure that she would grow into it but it seems to fit right now.

And we get to see her again in two weeks!

Mom / Grandmom in Mount Vernon

Most of Mom's first two days here went tragically unphotographed.

We spent our mornings enjoying the lazy sunshine and sipping our coffee.
On Thursday we met Lydia for lunch at El Cazador in Burlington.

Steph took Thursday and Friday off from work to visit and on Friday we headed out to enjoy the day.
We stopped along Chuckanut Drive to enjoy the view.

And we ended up in Bellingham for a wonderful lunch at Anthony's Hearthfire in the marina.

But you don't want to see us - you want to see the baby.